HA! 


GIFT   OF 


THE 


GUIDING    HAND 


OR 


ial  ^Direction 

ILLUSTRATED   BY   AUTHENTIC   INSTANCES 


anfc  CTolIecteU 

BY   H.   L.   HASTINGS 
ij 

EDITOR  OF  "THE  CHRISTIAN" 


BOSTON 
H.  L.  HASTINGS,  47  CORNHILL 

LONDON 
MARSHALL  BROTHERS,  So-  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  E.  C. 

Printed  in  America 
1893 


COPYRIGHT,  1881, 

H.  L.   HASTINGS, 

BOSTON,  MASS. 


G.H.6  M-5,1893. 
RBPOSITOEY  PRESS,  49  CORNHILL. 


PREFACE. 


One  fact  is  worth  two  arguments  ;  and  the  incidents  recorded  in  this 
volume  are  offered  as  facts.  It  is  true  that  some  of  them  are  given 
anonymously,  having  been  gathered  up  during  years  of  desultory 
reading,  from  sources  so  varied  that  it  has  been  sometimes  impossible 
to  authenticate  or  ascertain  the  authorship  of  a  particular  account ; 
but  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  instances  here  recorded  have 
occurred  within  the  experience  and  observation  of  the  writer,  or  that 
of  his  qwn  personal  friends  and  acquaintances.  Others  are  given 
upon  the  most  trustworthy  authority,  hence,  many  of  these  accounts 
are  known  to  be  true,  and  all  are  believed  to  be  worthy  of  credence. 

Called,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to  the  establishment  and  direc- 
tion of  a  religious  periodical,  the  writer  determined,  while  rigidly 
excluding  the  pious  fictions  and  lying  wonders  that  defile  the  denom- 
inational literature  of  the  age,  to  make  the  recital  of  authentic 
instances  of  God's  gracious  dealings  with  his  children,  a  leading 
point  of  interest  in  its  columns.  Accordingly  from  January,  1866, 
each  number  of  THE  CHRISTIAN  issued,  has  carried  to  the  tens  of 
thousands  of  its  readers,  accounts  of  answers  to  prayer,  instances 
of  providential  direction,  and  tokens  of  the  constant  and  gracious 
leading  of  God's  Guiding  Hand. 

Many  of  these  accounts,  thus  given  to  the  public,  have  been  copied 
into  other  journals,  reprinted  in  tracts  and  widely  scattered,  and  inserted 
in  books  by  various  compilers.  They  are  now  collected  and  arranged  for 
publication  in  a  series  of  volumes  entitled,  "•  The  Guiding  Hand," 
"  Tales  of  Trust,"  "  Ebenezers,  or  Records  of  Prevailing  Prayer,"  etc. ; 
the  labor  of  classifying  and  arranging  them  having  been  kindly 
undertaken  by  my  fellow- worker,  Wolcott  F.  Smith,  without  whose 
aid  their  issue  must  have  been  deferred  till  a  more  convenient  season. 

The  first  of  these  books  is  here  presented,  with  the  confident 
assurance  that  it  will  minister  strength  to  trusting  hearts,  and  prove 
a  help  and  comfort  to  tossed  and  troubled  souls. 

(3) 


4  PBEFACE. 

We  do  not  offer  these  incidents  because  we  think  it  a  new,  or 
strange,  or  wonderful  thing  that  God  should  manifest  his  care  for 
his  people,  or  guide  the  footsteps  of  his  little  flock ;  but  we  simply 
follow  the  example  of  one  who  said,  "  Come  and  hear,  all  ye  that 
fear  God,  and  I  will  declare  what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul."  Psalm 
Ixvi.  16. 

If  there  are  those  who  regard  these  accounts  as  too  marvelous  for 
belief,  they  are  referred  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  for  other  instances, 
many  of  which  are  far  more  astonishing  than  those  here  narrated. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  doubt  those  wonders  wrought  of  God  in 
the  far  off  ages,  as  recorded  in  his  word,  we  lay  before  them  these 
accounts,  as  instances  of  events  continually  occurring,  through  the 
wonder-working  power  of  the  ever  living  and  ever  loving  God. 

The  literature  of  ancient  Israel  was  full  of  the  records  of  the 
mighty  deeds  of  Him  who  wrought  wonders  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
who  divided  the  sea  by  his  strength,  and  who  went  before  his  chosen 
ones,  giving  them  manna  from  on  high,  and  water  from  the'  smitten 
rock,  defending  and  delivering  them,  and  providing  for  all  their 
wants. 

"  For  he  established  a  testimony  in  Jacob,  and  appointed  a  law  in 
Israel,  which  he  commanded  our  fathers,  that  they  should  make  them 
known  to  their  children ;  that  the  generation  to  come  might  know 
them,  even  the  children  which  should  be  born,  who  should  arise  and 
declare  them  to  their  children  ;  that  they  might  set  their  hope  in  God, 
and  not  forget  the  works  of  God,  but  keep  his  commandments." 
Ps.  Ixxviii.  5-7. 

In.  like  manner,  it  is  meet  that  we  make  mention  of  the  mercies  of 
the  Lord  to  us,  that  our  children  may  learn  to  trust  him,  and  in  an 
age  of  doubt  and  unbelief,  submit  themselves  to  the  guidance  of 
the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls. 

That  this  and  the  other  volumes  of  the  "  FAITH  SERIES"  may  be 
blessed  to  the  profit  of  the  sons  of  men,  and  lead  them  to  "  set  their 
hope  in  God,  and  not  forget  his  works,"  is  the  prayer  of 

THE  AUTHOR. 

SCRIPTURAL  TRACT  REPOSITORY, 
Office  of  THE  CHRISTIAN,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A., 
August,  1881. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

INTRODUCTION 7 

PART  I. 
RELIEF  AND  DELIVERANCE 15 

PART  II. 
DREAMS  AND  IMPRESSIONS        139 

PART  III. 

CONVERSIONS 285 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


PAGE. 

A  Blessed  Mistake*..  344 

A  Blessed  Psalm* 60 

Account  of  Mr.  Studly 121 

A  Child's  Text 361 

A  College  and  its  President* 332 

A  Fearful  Ride* 202 

A  Hymn  in  a  Tavern* 305 

A  Life  Saved  Through  a  Tract 94 

A  Memory  of  Wyoming 163 

Ann  Young's  Text 34 

A  Pastor's  Story* 41 

A  Poor  Cottager 271 

A  Providential  Visit 70 

A  Rabbit  Chase 345 

Are  Tracts  Wasted? 137 

A  Sleep— and  What  Came  of  it*. .  .320 

A  Star  in  the  Crown : .  .381 

A  Starving  Widow  Fed 129 

A  Strange  Opening 339 

A  Stray  Bible 348 

A  Stream  in  the  Desert 293 

ASuieide  Prevented 306 

A  Timely  Alarm* 115 

A  Timely  Visit 53 

A  Word  in  Season 376 

BeggingBread* 198 

Brands  Plucked  from  the  Fire 328 

Bread  upon  the  Waters 352 

Captain  Britwell's  Dream 195 

Captain  Farming's  Deliverance 280 

Captain  Harris 245 

Collins  and  the  Funeral 341 

Conversion  of  Count  Gasparin 346 

Crossing  the  Lake 92 

Captain  Yonnt's  Dream 209 

Deliverances* 17 

Deliverance  from  Despair 214 

Deliverance  of  James  Meikle 87 

Divine  Retribution 185 

Dr.  Bond's  Vision 165 

Elizabeth  Walker  and  the  Judge. .  99 

Father  Harding's  Convert*. 372 

Fleming's  Prophetic  Warning* 177 

Gobat  and  the  Hyenas 113 

"  Go  to  Rotterdam  " 247 

"  Go  to  the  Post-Office  "* 244 

Guidance  in  Giving* 266 

Help  in  Distress* 277 

Howe  and  the  Magistrate 336 

Juxta  Crucem 382 

Liberty  for  a  Captive 366 

Money  from  a  Miser 86 

Prayer  for  a  Candle 174 

Praying  and  Dueling 109 

Pray  over  them 313 

Presentiments 187 

Preserved  by  a  Raven 106 

Providences  in  Bible  Translation*.  118 

Providence  Above  Law 241 

Providence  and  Law 134 

Providential  Illness 33 

Provision  for  Caleb 219 

Richard  Boardman's  Deliverance.  .185 
Saved  from  a  Robber  by  Rain 80 

The  articles  designated  by  a  star  (*)  were 


PAGE. 

Senator  Linn's  Rescue 154 

Song  in  the  Night 283 

Take  Care  of  Him 207 

Tennent's  Deliverance 141 

The  Awakened  Student* 264 

The  Bill  and  the  Butterfly 69 

The  Bullet  in  the  Bible 98 

The  Burning  Parsonage 237 

The  Captive's  Release 130 

The  Circle  of  Fire 171 

The  Czar  and  the  Psalm* 287 

The  Drowning  Lady 257 

The  Dyke-man's  Deliverance 158 

The  Engineer's  Premonition .229 

The  Explosion* 259 

The  Falling  Chimney 52 

The  First  Awakened 324 

The  First  load  of  Wood 82 

The  Flying  Engine* 272 

The  Frightened  Robbers 351 

The  Gold-digging  Rat Ill 

The  Heaven-built  Wall 132 

The  Imperiled  Child 251 

The  Inlidel  and  the  Pirates 369 

The  Lady  and  the  Robber* , . .  26 

The  Light-colored  Coat* 298 

The  Little  Anchor* 47 

The  Lock  of  Hair 104 

The  Lord's  Leading    138 

The  Lost  Book  and  Saved  Sinner.  .364 

The  Lost  Deeds 136 

The  Mastodon's  Bones* 81 

The  Minister  and  the  Sick  Girl*...  .360 
The  Mohammedan  Book-binder. .  349 

The  Mysterious  Unkindness 356 

The  Old  Flint-lock 84 

The  Packed  Trunk 278 

The  Pertinent  Text 314 

The  Prisoner  of  Glatz 66 

The  Railway  Interview 303 

The  Reprieve 231 

The  Rescue 107 

The  Saved  Railway  Train* 239 

The  Scattered  Tracts 308 

The  Shipwrecked  Crew 213 

The  Skeptic  and  the  Bird's  Nest. .  .326 

The  Speechless  Ones* .224 

The  Suicide  and  her  Bible 378 

The  Suicide  Saved 120 

The  Timely  Ebb  tide 117 

The  Torn  Hymn 362 

The  Tract  and  the  Oyster 377 

The  Wayside  Bethel* 315 

The  Wedding  Robe 152 

The  Wet  Grist* 71 

The  Widow's  Prayer  Answered*. .  .235 

The  Widow's  Wood* 248 

The  Young  Deliverer 74 

Thomas  Hownham 191 

Thomas  Williams'  Escape 56 

Treasures  Hid  in  the  Sand* 90 

Wesley  and  his  Persecutors 161 

What  a  Fly  Did 379 

Who  Rung  that  Bell? 96 

written  expressly  for  TUB  CHRISTIAN. 


INTBODUCTION. 


There  are  no  arguments  like  facts;  and  God's 
providences  are  facts.  Ten  thousand  voices  from 
the  past  proclaim  them  to  the  world,  and  ten  thou- 
sand  voices  from  the  living  present  echo  and  indorse 
the  proclamation.  And  this  evidence  is  cumulative. 
If  every  trace  and  record  of  God's  providences  up 
to  this  day  were  instantly  blotted  out  and  forgotten, 
new  facts  would  be  developed  to-morrow,  and  living 
men  and  women  would  at  once  arise  and  testify  to 
fresh  experiences  of  the  gracious  guidance  of  the 
unseen  hand  of  God. 

There  are  persons  who  see  nothing  of  the  kind, — 
so  there  are  men  who  hunt,  and  fish,  and  starve,  for 
generations,  seeing  nothing  but  poverty  and  want 
around  them,  until  some  stranger  comes  and  finds 
gold  and  silver  and  iron  and  gems  beneath  their 
feet ;  drops  seeds  into  the  earth,  and  makes  the 
desert  smile ;  and  skirts  the  arrowy  water-course 
with  shops  and  mills,  where  streams  that  have  been 
idle  for  ages,  are  taught  to  do  the  work  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  men. 

Shall   the  red   savage,   who  has  hunted  over  the 


'4      vvVl 

*    'A  •'  ***«*«>•'"•      ^     •     *** 
>\  :  &  J  £!X«   *'  INTRODUCTION. 

region  for  years,  and  seen  nothing,  and  found  noth- 
ing, but  minks  and  muskrats,  set  up  his  ignorance 
and  blindness  against  the  higher  wisdom  of  the 
stranger,  who,  with  a  single  glance,  saw  mines  and 
mills,  fields  and  fruits,  as  with  an  anointed  eye,  and 
knew  that  they  were  all  sure  to  come  ?  Then  let  the 
worldling,  buried  in  his  vain  pursuits,  set  his  igno- 
rance against  the  experience  of  those  who  have  tasted 
that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  and  proved  that  his  prom- 
ises are  true. 

But  the  men  who  utterly  deny  God's  providences 
are  very  few.  Let  the  subject  come  up  in  a  spirit  of 
inquiry  in  almost  any  company,  and  instantly  some 
one  or  more  will  have  their  story  to  tell,  of  some 
wonderful  fact  which  they  have  witnessed,  experi- 
enced, or  received  from  unquestionable  authority, 
illustrating  the  general  subject  of  supernatural  direc- 
tion, and  providential  care.  And  he  who  will  note 
and  gather  up  such  scattered  incidents,  whether 
related  by  those  around  him,  or  recorded  in  the 
writings  of  the  candid  and  devout  in  all  ages,  will 
find  a  mine  of  precious  facts  which  he  can  neither 
exhaust  nor  explore.  And  he  who  will  seek  in 
patience  and  in  prayer  to  know  and  do  the  will  of 
God,  will  most  likely  soon  find  for  himself  facts  in 
his  own  experience  which  will  set  his  own  mind 
forever  at  rest. 

It  is  objected  by  some  that  the  accounts  given  of 
providential  interposition  are  too  marvelous  to  be 
believed  ;  that  they  must  be  mere  fiction,  the  product 
of  imaginative  minds  and  the  beguilement  of  idle 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

hours.  But  if  we  reject  modern  accounts  of  God's 
providences,  what  shall  we  do  with  the  more  ancient 
records  ?  No  book  is  so  crowded  with  such  matter 
as  the  book  of  God.  Shall  we  reject  the  accounts  of 
more  recent  experiences  because  they  faintly  resem- 
ble in  their  character  the  records  which  inspiration 
has  preserved  ?  It  is  true  that  the  Scriptures  warn 
us  against  the  deceptions  of  Satanic  craft,  and  the 
"lying  wonders"  wrought  by  his  aid  and  direction. 
But  does  not  this  warning  imply  that  there  are  true 
wonders,  and  that  we  are  to  distinguish  between 
them?  If,  when  the  canon  of  Scripture  was  closed, 
it  had  been  ordained  that  all  instances  of  miraculous 
or  supernatural  interposition  should  from  that  hour 
forever  cease,  how  easy  would  it  have  been  to  have 
said,  "This  book  contains  a  record  of  the  wonders 
which  God  has  wrought  from  the  creation  of  the 
world ;  it  must  be  believed  and  received ;  but  any 
person  who  shall  hereafter  testify  that  God  still  hears 
prayer,  works  wonders,  or  directs  the  steps  of  his 
people,  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  enthusiast  or  an 
impostor,  and  any  account  which  relates  events  and 
facts  resembling  those  recorded  here,  is  to  be  rejected 
as  unworthy  of  belief."  Such  a  caution  as  this  would 
have  for  ever  relieved  Christians  from  all  fear  or 
danger  of  deception  or  mistake.  But  no  such  caution 
was  given  ;  on  the  contrary,  as  if  He  who  had  worked 
wonders  hitherto  would  still  work  them  on  the  behalf 
of  his  word  and  his  church,  men  were  warned  against 
the  false,  implying  that  there  was  also  something 
true  to  be  expected  and  received. 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

The  current  thought  that  miracles  and  wonders 
belong  exclusively  to  a  by-gone  age,  seems  hardly 
worthy  of  a  reply.  Where  is  the  proof  of  such  an 
assertion?  Has  the  Almighty  changed?  Does  not 
" every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift"  still  come 
down  from  the  Father  of  lights,  with  whom, — how- 
ever man  and  earthly  things  may  change , — ' '  there  is 
no  parallax  nor  shadow  of  turning "?  "The  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever," — is  His  arm  short- 
ened, or  has  His  promise  failed?  Do  not  all  His 
words  read  as  they  did  of  old  ?  And  is  not  man  the 
same  ?  Was -not  Elias  * «  a  man  subject  to  like  passions 
as  we  are  "  ?  And  did  not  his  prayer  shut  heaven  above 
rebellious  Israel,  by  the  space  of  three  years  and 
six  months,  until  "he  prayed  again,  and  the  heavens 
gave  rain,  and  the  earth  brought  forth  her  fruit"? 

No,  with  the  same  God,  and  the  same  Saviour,  and 
the  same  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  same  gospel,  and  the 
same  promises,  and  the  same  sinful  humanity,  where 
is  the  change  ?  Of  old  there  was  failure,  and  a  single 
demon  defeated  the  doubting  disciples  and  held  his 
victim  till  Christ  came  down  from  the  mountain  and 
delivered  him.  And  now,  as  then,  the  working  of 
the  Holy  One  is  limited  by  the  faithlessness  of  the 
sons  of  men,  so  that  over  many  a  lifeless  church  and 
city  it  may  be  said  to-day,  "And  he  could  there  do 
no  mighty  work,  save  that  he  laid  his  hands  upon  a 
few  sick  folk,  and  healed  them.  And  he  marveled 
because  of  their  unbelief."  Mark  vi.  5,.  6.  "And  he 
did  not  many  mighty  works  there,  because  of  their 
unbelief."  Matt.  xiii.  58. 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

A  doubting,  caviling  generation  shuts  itself  away 
from  the  fullness  of  divine  blessing.  For  them  the 
sun  shines,  but  they  have  blinded  their  eyes.  For 
them  the  rain  descends,  but  their  vessels  are  closed 
against  it, — the  blessing  is  ready,  but  they  refuse  to 
receive  it,  and  frustrate  the  grace  of  God. 

A  word  of  solemn  caution  is  due  to  those  who 
seek  the  aid  and  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  "  Be- 
loved, believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits 
whether  they  are  of  God  :  because  many  false  proph- 
ets are  gone  out  into  the  world." 

The  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  does  not  seem  to  be 
to  create  or  impart  new  powers  of  mind  or  body, 
but  rather  to  remedy  defects,  and  repair  the  ruin 
wrought  by  sin.  Man  is  a  wreck,  disordered  and 
diseased;  the  Holy  Spirit  "  helpeth  our  infirmities." 

Memory,  though  a  natural  gift,  becomes  impaired ; 
the  Holy  Spirit  brings  all  things  to  remembrance. 
Conscience  is  a  natural  gift,  but  it  becomes  Beared  or 
perverted ;  the  Holy  Spirit  purges  and  quickens  it, 
and  convinces  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judg- 
ment. Speech  is  a  natural  gift,  but  the  Holy  Spirit 
loosens  the  stammering  tongue,  and  even  bestows 
ability  so  that  men  speak  with  new  tongues  as  the 
Spirit  gives  them  utterance.  The  healthful  human 
body  may,  by  contact  with  the  sick,  sometimes 
impart  strength,  or  vital  force,  and  thus  alleviate 
pain,  the  giver  being  weakened,  as  the  receiver  is 
strengthened,  by  the  process ;  but  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  fills  a  man  with  gifts  of  power  and  healing, 
then  divine  energies  work  such  wonders  and  cures 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

as  mere  human  power  can  never  approach  or  imitate. 

So,  also,  there  are  persons  who  are  naturally  sensi- 
tive to  unseen  influences,  and  able  to  discern  distant 
trouble,  and  foreknow  coming  danger,  being  gifted 
with  a  sort  of  prophetic  instinct,  which  may  be 
debased  by  vice  or  blunted  by  neglect,  but  which 
may  be  improved  by  culture,  and  specially  quick- 
ened and  exalted  by  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Thus  divine  manifestations  are  possible.  They  are 
made  through  the  channels  of  human  thought  and 
feeling,  for  man  himself  with  all  his  powers  is 
God's  creature,  and  should  in  every  faculty  of  his 
being  respond  to  the  moving  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as 
harp-strings  thrill  beneath  the  harper's  hand. 

Well  knowing  the  importance  of  these  manifesta- 
tions, Satan  seeks  by  his  fascinations,  spiritual  mani- 
festations, and  psychological  juggleries ,  to  jumble  and 
confound  all  things,  human  and  divine,  sacred  and 
profane,  decent  and  devilish,  in  one  indistinguishable 
mass.  And  as  all  these  manifestations  have  points  of 
likeness,  since  man  is  the  subject  of  the  whole,  with 
devilish  art  the  precious  and  the  vile  are  commin- 
gled till  all  are  received  or  all  are  rejected  together. 
The  most  terrible  and  disgraceful  fanaticisms  have 
thus  sprung  up  among  honest  but  incautious  souls, 
who,  while  professing  to  be  lead  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
have  been  swayed  by  the  influence  of  erring  men,  or 
have  found  a  lower  depth  of  demoniac  thrall  and  been 
"  led  captive  by  Satan  at  his  will,"  till  they  have  dis- 
honored the  Lord,  and  brought  reproach  on  his  cause, 
leading  others  to  deny  all  divine  guidance,  reject 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

the  Holy  Spirit,  and  sink  into  formalism  and  death. 

The  only  safety  from  these  wiles  of  the  devil  is 
found  in  the  most  strict  and  conscientious  adherence 
to  the  teachings  of  ,the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  not  given  to  supersede  revelation  or  encour- 
age laziness.  To  ask  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
matters  expressly  commanded  or  forbidden  by  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  savors  more  of  impertinence  than 
of  piety.  But  while  the  directions  of  the  Scriptures 
are  unalterably  correct  as  a  guide,  and  infallibly  true 
as  a  touch-stone  and  criterion  by  which  to  examine 
and  decide  the  true  character  of  our  mental  and  spir- 
itual exercises,  of  course  a  book  of  general  precepts 
and  principles  can  never  give  specific  directions  to 
meet  the  special  and  personal  duties  of  each  individ- 
ual Christian.  Hence  the  necessity  for  additional 
direction ;  and  here  we  find  room  for  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  Acts  of  the  apostles  abound  with  instances  of 
this  direction.  "The  Spirit  said  unto  Philip,  Go 
near  and  join  thyself  to  this  chariot ;  and  Philip  ran 
thither  to  him ;"  and  by  that  act  he  sent  the  gospel 
unchallenged  into  the  heart  of  Ethiopia,  and  into  the 
very  palace  of  the  Queen.  Acts  viii.  29,  30.  The 
Spirit  said  to  Peter,  "Behold,  three  men  seek 
thee ;  ...  go  with  them,  doubting  nothing,  for  I 
have  sent  them ;"  and  the  gospel  was  thus  carried 
to  the  house  of  Cornelius  of  Caesarea.  Acts  x.  19, 
20.  "The  Holy  Ghost  said,  Separate  me  Barnabas 
and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have  called 
them;  ....  so  they,  being  sent  forth  by  the 


14  INTKODUCTION. 

Holy  Ghost,  departed  unto  Seleucia."   Acts  xiii.  2-4. 

Now  in  all  these  cases,  and  in  others  like  them, 
of  course  it  could  not  be  expected  that  written 
directions  would  be  given  in  the  Bible  for  the  guid- 
ance of  the  servants  of  the  Lord.  The  general 
precept  was,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature ;"  but  we  read  that 
when  Paul  and  Silas  at  one  time  ' « were  forbidden 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach  the  word  in  Asia," 
4  *  they  assayed  to  go  into  Bithynia,  but  the  Spirit 
suffered  them  not ;"  while  on  the  other  hand,  to  the 
cry,  "Come  over  into  Macedonia,  and  help  us, "they 
were  enabled  to  render  an  immediate  response.  Acts 
xvi.  6,7,9.  And  when  thus  called  and  directed  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  all  things  conspired  to  favor  their 
progress,  and  instead  of  tacking  and  beating,  "loosing 
from  Troas,"  they  "came  with  a  straight  course  to 
Samothracia,  and  the  next  day  to  Neapolis." 

Thus  times  and  places  and  opportunities  for  Chris- 
tian service  are  often  pointed  out  to  the  child  of 
God.  And  while  those  who  ask  for  the  teaching  of 

o 

the  Holy  Ghost  as  an  excuse  for  disregarding  the 
written  Word,  or  to  pry  into  secrets  concealed  by  the 
Lord,  deserve  and  may  expect  disappointment  and 
deception,  those  who  cling  closely  to  that  Word  as 
the  man  of  their  counsel,  and  ask  of  God  the  wis- 
dom which  they  lack,  will  find  to  their  joy  that  he 
will  guide  the  meek  in  judgment  and  teach  the  meek 
his  way,  and  can  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "Thou 
shalt  guide  me  with  thy  counsel,  and  afterward 
receive  me  to  glory." 


THE  GUIDING  HAND, 


RELIEF  AND  DELIVERANCE. 


"THE  LORD  PRESERVETH  THE  STRANGERS;  HE  RELIEVETH 

THE   FATHERLESS   AND    WIDOW."      Ps.   Cxlvi.   9. 

' '  BEHOLD*  THE  EYE  OP  THE  LORD  is  UPON  THEM  THAT  FEAR 

HIM,  UPON  THEM  THAT  HOPE  IN  HIS  MERCY ;  TO  DELIVER  THEIR 
SOUL  FROM  DEATH,  AND  TO  KEEP  THEM  ALIVE  IN  FAMINE." 

Ps.  xxxiii.  18,  19. 

"Tnou  ART  MY  HIDING-PLACE;   THOU  SHALT  PRESERVE  ME 
FROM  TROUBLE;   THOU  SHALT  COMPASS  ME  ABOUT  WITH  SONGS 

OF  DELIVERANCE."      Ps.  XXXii.  7. 


THE    GUIDING  HAND. 


EELIEF  AND  DELIVEKANCE. 


BELIVEEANCES. 

In  the  spring  of  1848,  a  young  lady  of  eighteen 
years  bade  good-bye  to  father,  mother,  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  turned  her  face  from  her  quiet  home,  in 
the  southern  part  of  Vermont,  taking  the  stage 
across  the  Green  Mountains  for  Troy,  thence  jour- 
neying by  rail  to  Buffalo,  and  there  taking  the 
steamboat  on  Lake  Erie,  intending  to  visit  her 
friends  in  the  West.  Filled  with  youthful  hopes, 
buoyant  with  activity,  and  health,  and  bloom,  and 
beauty,  nothing  in  all  her  previous  mountain  life  had 
ever  seemed  so  productive  of  joy  and  happiness,  as 
the  incidents  of  this  first  journey  from  home. 

The  boat  from  Buffalo  did  not  stop  at  the  place  of 
her  destination,  and  accordingly  she  landed  at  the 
nearest  lake-port,  Barcelona,  ten  miles  distant  from 
R. ,  where  her  friends  resided  whom  she  had  thought 
to  visit  first  on  her  western  trip. 

A  mere  circumstance,  however,  had  nearly  pre- 
vented her  leaving  the  steamer  at  Barcelona.  She 

(17) 


18  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

had  intended  to  visit  other  kindred  further  west,  in 
Michigan,  and  a  youthful  company  of  associates  on 
board  the  steamer,  who  had  with  her  spent  the  time 
in  singing  and  gay  conversation,  pressed  her  earnestly 
to  go  on  with  them.  But  an  inward  impression,  that 
could  not  easily  be  resisted,  urged  her  to  leave  the 
boat  at  Barcelona.  She  decided  to  listen  to  the 
constraining  voice,  and  bidding  her  gay  companions 
adieu,  she  disembarked  and  visited  her  friends. 

A  warm  and  joyful  welcome  awaited  the  young 
traveler  at  R.,  where,  during  a  pleasant  tarry  of  one 
year,  and  while  engaged  in  teaching  a  school,  she, 
when  the  community  was  enjoying  a  season  of  revival, 
became  a  disciple  of  Him  who  once  pressed  a  sailor's 
pillow,  but  showed  a  Saviour's  love,  and  manifested 
a  Creator's  power. 

But  alas  for  her  fellow-voyagers  !  How  uncertain 
is  human  life  !  This  ill-fated  steamer  was  laden  with 
travelers  who  were  destined,  most  of  them,  never  to 
see  the  places  toward  which  they  were  journeying. 
Only  five  hours  after  Miss  S.  was  set  ashore  in  safety 
at  Barcelona,  the  boat,  while  proceeding  on  up  the 
lake,  took  fire,  and  in  spite  of  the  almost  super- 
human efforts  made  to  save  her,  was  burned  to  the 
water's  edge, — nearly  all  on  board,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  three  or  four  persons,  perishing  either  in  the 
flames  or  by  drowning  in  the  lake.  Many  a  home 
was  desolate  from  that  sad  night  when  the  lake  was 
lit  up  with  the  flames  of  the  burning  steamer,  and 
many  a  weeping  eye  looked  out  long  but  vainly  for 
the  faces  of  dear  ones  who  never  came  again. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  19 

But  Miss  S.  escaped.  She  obeyed  the  leadings  of 
the  Guiding  Hand,  and  thus  was  saved ;  saved  by  a 
single  moment's  decision,  only  five  hours  from  a 
terrible  death ;  saved  to  find  Christ,  the  sinner's  best 
Friend,  and  go  back  to  her  father's  home  glad  in  the 
Eedeemer's  love.  Such  was  the  providence  of  God 
in  her  deliverance ;  and  though  many  years  have 
passed  away,  she  to  this  day  retains  a  vivid  recollec- 
tion of  that  narrow  escape  from  death  on  board  the 
doomed  Griffith,  and  thankfully  herein  records,  by 
our  hand,  the  story  of  her  deliverance. 

About  the  time  the  above  events  occurred  near 
lake  Erie,  a  young  man,  who  had  early  given  his 
heart  to  God  and  consecrated  himself  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  in  company  with  three  Christian  breth- 
ren, was  crossing  a  portion  of  lake  Champlain,  lying 
between  two  islands,  where  the  waves  ran  high  and 
threatening,  and  the  winds  blew  fiercely.  The  boat, 
which  carried  them  safely  over,  seemed  held  together 
by  a  miracle,  for  it  was  qld  and  leaky,  requiring  to 
be  bailed  every  minute  ;  and  it  was  so  rotten,  that  it 
went  to  pieces  on  the  shore  within  two  days  after- 
wards, splitting  in  twain  as  it  lay  idle.  He  was  out 
on  one  of  his  first  missions  to  lost  men,  and  God 
beheld  the  danger,  and  shielded  the  boat's  crew  from 
peril  on  the  angry  and  turbulent  waters. 

Thus  the  lives  of  two  persons,  at  that  period 
utterly  unknown  to  each  other,  were  spared  from 
untimely  destructions,  afterwards  to  meet  and  become 
"  one  flesh  "  at  the  altar,  and  share  together  the  joys 
and  sorrows  incident  to  all  who  are  on  life's  voyage 


20  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

in  the  same  boat,  bound  for  the  haven  of  endless 
rest  beyond  these  mortal  shores.  Happy  will  they 
be  if  this  voyage  ends  well. 

Some  few  years  after  these  events,  in  the  year 
185-,  while  this  clergyman  and  his  wife  were  on 
their  way  from  the  city  of  Boston  to  Vermont, 
whither  they  had  been  summoned  to  attend  at  the 
bedside  of  a  sick  parent,  they  had  together  a  very 
narrow  escape  from  violent  and  instant  death .  Reach- 
ing by  railroad  the  village  of  B.,  at  which  place  they 
arrived  at  nightfall,  intending  to  take  the  stage  to 

W ,  some  twenty-five  miles,  they  had  already 

alighted  from  the  cars,  handed  their  checks  to  the 
stage-driver,  and  passing  round  to  the  opposite  -side 
of  the  depot,  sprang  into  the  stage,  congratulating 
themselves  and  each  other  on  having  secured  the 
hinder  seat,  as  being  the  most  comfortable  for  the 
endurance  of  the  long  night  ride  among  the  moun- 
tains. But  scarcely  were  they  seated  in  fancied 
security,  and  while  waiting  for  the  appearance  of  the 
driver,  when  the  four  horses  attached  to  the  cum- 
brous vehicle,  becoming  frightened  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  locomotive,  with  one  leap  broke  the 
tie-strap  with  which  they  were  fastened  to  the  post 
in  the  platform,  and  commenced  running  away. 
With  no  one  at  hand  to  arrest  them,  the  two  sole 
occupants  of  the  stage  were  scarcely  aware  for  a  few 
moments  that,  locked  in  behind  the  heavy  leathern 
bar,  and  with  the  stage  doors  closed,  they  were  en- 
tirely at  the  mercy  of  the  frightened  steeds.  Plung- 
ing forward,  the  brutes  turned  their  heads  toward 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  21 

the  river,  making  a  sharp  curve  to  enable  them  to 
head  toward  the  north,  and  so  pass  up  over  the 
bridge  into  the  village.  No  guard  or  fence  pro- 
tected the  river  bank,  and  with  increasing  speed 
the  fugitives  dragged  their  helpless  victims  after 
them  with  no  power  to  resist,  while  the  chance  of 
clearing  the  danger  and  making  the  curve  between 
the  depot  and  the  Connecticut  appeared  very  small, 
and  the  danger  very  great.  Escape  for  a  few  mo- 
ments seemed  hopeless.  Who  shall  describe  the 
feelings  of  those  thus  exposed  to  such  imminent  peril  ? 
To  leap  from  the  flying  stage  was  fraught  with  jeop- 
ardy;  to  remain  in  it,  was  to  court  death.  And 
then,  would  the  horses  escape  the  steep  bank  of  the 
river?  The  bank  at  this  place  was  twenty  feet  high, 
and  the  water  twenty  feet  deep.  Only  a  few  nights 
previously,  as  they  were  afterwards  told,  a  man  had 
driven  his  team  over  the  bank,  and  was  drowned. 
A  space  of  but  ten  rods  of  ground  was  all  that  inter- 
vened. Two  rods  or  less  from  the  precipitous  bank, 
and  running  parallel  with  it,  lay  a  section  of  the  old 
railway,  with  the  iron  rails  still  fastened  to  the 
decayed  ties.  While  passing  the  bend  of  the  curve, 
and  under  full  speed,  the  wheels  struck  the  iron  rails, 
and  the  coach  was  instantly  upset.  Clasping  each 
other  in  their  arms,  the  affrighted  pair  were  dashed 
to  the  earth  with  great  violence,  amongst  broken 
glass  from  the  window  and  the  debris  of  the  shattered 
coach  body.  But  during  the  anxious  moments  of 
their  peril,  they  had  bethought  them  of  that  God 
whose  watchful  eye  was  over  all  his  chosen,  and  who 


22  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

had  power  to  save,  and  a  quick  prayer  for  deliver- 
ance had  ascended  to  his  ear,  and  was  answered  as 
quickly.  A  crowd  of  inquiring  spectators  rushed  to 
the  rescue  and  offered  friendly  aid  to  the  unfortunate. 
Broken  spectacles  and  torn,  soiled  garments ;  a 
terrible  jar  and  crash  to  the  earth  within  twenty  feet 
of  the  precipitous  river  bank ;  wounds  and  contusions 
that  required  the  physician's  care  for  ten  days ;  a 
newspaper  notice  of  an  accident,  and  a  free  ride  for 
the  rest  of  the  journey,  were  among  the  results  of 
the  adventure.  The  body  of  the  coach  had,  in  up- 
setting, become  detached  from  the  wheels,  and  the 
horses  ran  away  with  the  latter,  leaving  the  former 
on  the  ground. 

At  midnight,  after  a  tedious,  painful  ride,  the 
preacher  and  his  companion  bowed  at  the  bedside  of 
the  sick  father,  and  poured  out  their  souls  in  suppli- 
cations and  thanksgivings  to  that  holy  Being  who 
preserves  our  lives  from  destructions.  Never  before 
had  they  been  so  near  a  violent  death ;  never  did 
deliverance  seem  to  be  vouchsafed  so  speedily.  The 
newspapers  of  B.  the  next  morning  recorded  it  as  an 
11  accident."  So  it  was,  perhaps.  But  there  are 
two  who  to  this  day  put  down  on  the  pages  of 
memory  this  thrilling  episode  in  their  checkered 
lives,  as  a  providential  deliverance  from  a  seen  dan- 
ger, where  there  was  but  a  step  between  them  and 
death. 

Several  years  later,  in  the  fall  of  1861,  this  same 
servant  of  Christ,  with  his  companion,  having  come 
to  the  city  of  R. ,  had,  on  a  bright  October  morning, 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  23 

taken  seats  in  the  car  for  a  ride  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles,  to  A.  Scarcely  had  they  passed 
the  third  station  on  the  route,  ere  the  train,  which 
had  already  acquired  a  speed  of  ten  miles  an  hour, 
was  suddenly  checked,  throwing  the  startled  passen- 
gers against  the  seats  in  front  of  them,  and  causing 
a  general  exclamation  of  fear  and  surprise,  and  a 
rush  toward  the  car  door.  Looking  out,  the  splen- 
did engine  was  seen  off  the  track,  plowed  into  a  bank 
of  earth,  and  nearly  turned  on  its  side,  dragging 
several  of  the  forward  cars  after  it,  and  crushing  and 
damaging  the  baggage.  Every  one  involuntarily 
exclaimed,  "  What  if  the  train  had  been  under  full 
speed?"  and,"  What  if  this  had  occurred  on  a  high 
bank?"  Five  minutes  later  and  so  it  would  have 
been. 

Again  were  these  two,  who  had  till  now  borne 
a  charmed  life,  perhaps  but  a  few  minutes  from 
destruction.  The  train  was  detained  an  hour,  until 
a  new  one  could  be  made  up,  before  it  proceeded  on 
its  swift  way  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  There 
Were  two  of  those  passengers,  if  no  more,  who  per- 
formed the  rest  of  that  journey  with  mingled  fear 
and  thanksgiving, — fearing  that  controlling  Power 
that  seems  to  hold  the  destinies  of  human  souls  in 
his  awful  hand, — thanking  the  good  Father  who 
ruleth  over  all,  for  still  preserving  their  persons 
from  danger,  and  enabling  them  to  safely  arrive  at 
the  place  of  their  destination. 

At  a  time  still  later,  in  the  winter  of  1866,  this 
clergyman  took  the  train  at  K.,  for  the  village  of  P., 


24  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

intending  the  next  day,  which  was  Sunday,  to  meet 
an  appointment  for  preaching  at  M.  A  ride  of  three 
hours  brought  us  to  M.,  at  which  place,  after  the 
usual  tarry  and  changes,  the  train  started  on.  Sev- 
eral miles  beyond  M.,  having  just  emerged  from  a 
long  curve  in  a  deep  cut,  where  high  lands  hid  all 
objects  on  either  side,  as  well  as  obstructing  the  view 
in  front  to  the  open  flat  land  beyond,  and  while 
running  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  an  hour — the  train 
being  behind  time — suddenly  the  engineer  gave  the 
signal  to  put  on  all  the  brakes,  and  stop  the  train. 
Nothing  is  more  alarming  to  a  railway  traveler,  than 
this  quick,  hoarse  note  of  alarm,  especially  if  a  glance 
at  the  window  exhibits  no  evidence  of  proximity  to 
a  station.  Quick  as  the  signal  the  brakes  were  put 
on  heavily,  the  great  speed  of  the  train  checked,  and 
the  passengers  sprang  to  their  feet,  and  the  men  out 
at  the  door.  The  excited  conductor,  a  man  of  eight 
years'  experience  in  conducting  trains,  came  through 
the  car,  and  a  voice  said,  "  Look  ahead  on  the  track." 
All  did  so,  and  were  startled  to  discover  a  heavy 
freight  train  on  our  track,  scarcely  one  minute's  ride 
in  the  distance,  heading  towards  us,  whose  engineer, 
with  our  own,  had  seen  the  approaching  train  in 
time,  and  checked  the  speed  of  his  engine.  Only 
one  minute  between  us  and  a  frightful  collision  that 
would  have  dashed  both  locomotives  and  cars  in 
pieces,  and  doubtless  injured  or  killed  every  soul  on 
board.  The  conductor  had  mistaken  his  orders,  and 
thereby  lost  his  place.  The  superintendent  of  the 
road,  when  made  aware  of  the  imminence  of  the  peril 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  25 

to  passengers  and  train,  passed  an  almost  sleepless 
night,  and  the  involuntary  exclamation  of  all  was, 
"  What  if  we  had  met  in  the  curve  in  the  deep  cut?" 
What  destinies  hung  on  that  single  moment  that 
separated  this  freight  of  panting  men  and  women 
from  ruin  of  life  and  limb !  Is  it  right  to  say  ours 
was  "good  fortune"  only,  and  that  no  Almighty 
Guiding  Hand  shielded  the  trusting  and  thankful 
ones  from  the  dangerous  catastrophe  ? 

There  was  one  at  least  on  board  that  train  whose 
work  for  God  was  not  ended, — whose  earthly  trials 
and  sufferings  in  the  service  of  the  Master  had  not 
yet  accomplished  his  perfection,  and  whose  life  was 
yet  to  be  spared  for  further  service  in  the  great 
Redeemer's  cause. 

Why  God  spares  one,  as  if  by  special  act,  and 
suffers  another  to  be  taken,  is  a  mystery  which  the 
light  of  eternity  will  more  fully  unfold.  Let  Him 
do  as  he  will.  But  somehow,  in  view  of  the  many 
deliverances  recorded  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord, 
and  our  own  experience  in  such  matters,  we  have 
come  to  have  an  abiding  faith  that  all  men,  until  their 
work  is  done,  are  endowed  with  a  sort  of  contingent 
immortality,  and  cannot,  if  faithful,  be  effectually 
harmed.  And  it  affords  great  joy  to  rest  in  this 
faith,  and  learn  to  nestle  close  into  the  great  hand  of 
Deity.  Men  in  God's  service,  while  on  Jife's  tumult- 
uous sea,  are  as  corks  on  the  waters — but  not  a  hair 
of  their  heads  will  perish  while  in  the  line  of  their 
duty,  until  God  is  through  with  them  on  earth.  For 
a  period  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  we  have  watched 


26  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

the  course  of  human  life  in  this  dangerous  world, 
with  seven  or  eight  hundred  ministers  in  this  country 
who  are  set  to  herald  the  speedy  appearing  of  our 
blessed  Lord  from  heaven  in  his  eternal  kingdom, 
and  with  gratitude  and  wonder  declare  the  fact  that 
we  know  not  a  single  instance  where  a  minister  of 
God  among  them,  while  in  the  line  of  his  professional 
duty,  has  been  cut  off  by  an  accidental  or  violent 
death.  Yet  no  class  of  clergymen  travel  more,  or 
are  more  exposed  to  casualties,  perils,  and  natural 
dangers,  braving  toil  and  risking  life  and  limb  every- 
where in  proclaiming  their  heaven-born  message. 
Many  have  died  in  their  beds,  and  a  few  who  turned 
from  duty  and  took  the  sword  to  fight  have  perished, 
while  the  faithful  are  yet  unharmed.  Let  them 
glorify  God.  And  let  each  keep  at  his  work,  and 
fear  not,  leaving  life  and  all  in  the  hands  of  the  dear 
good  Master.  He  is  mighty  to  save.  In  his  king- 
dom, there  will  be  no  peril  or  danger, — immortality 
will  be  proof  against  all  evil,  and  the  reward  of 
fidelity  is  certain  and  sure. 


THE  LADY  AND  THE  BOBBER. 

In  a  large,  lonely  house,  situated  in  the  south  of 
England,  there  lived  many  years  ago  a  lady  whose 
only  companions  were  two  maid-servants.  Though 
far  away  from  all  human  habitations,  they  dwelt  in 
peace  and  safety,  for  they  trusted  in  God,  and  feared 
no  evil  under  his  protecting  care. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  27 

It  was  the  lady's  custom  to  pass  around  the  house 
with  her  maid-servants  every  night,  and  see  that  all 
the  doors  and  windows  were  properly  secured,  and 
then  to  lie  down  and  sleep  in  peace  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Almighty,  who  was  her  trust  and  her  shield. 

One  night  she  had  accompanied  her  maids  about 
the  house  as  usual,  and  having  ascertained  that  all 
was  safe,  they  left  her  in  the  passage  close  to  her 
room,  and  then  went  to  their  own  apartment,  which 
was  quite  distant,  at  the  other  side  of  the  house. 

As  the  lady,  thus  left  alone,  opened  the  door  into 
her  room,  she  distinctly  saw  the  feet  of  a  man  under 
her  bed.  Her  feelings  may  be  imagined.  Her  ser- 
vants were  far  away,  and  could  not  hear  her  if  she 
called  for  help  ;  she  might  be  murdered  before  they 
could  arrive ,  even  if  they  did  hear  her  ;  and  if  they 
were  there ,  three  weak  and  defenceless  women  would 
have  been  no  match  for  an  armed  and  desperate 
burglar.  Danger  was  all  around  her;  flight  was 
impracticable  ;  earthly  refuge  seemed  to  fail.  What 
then  could  she  do  ?  She  did  what  it  is  always  safe 
to  do — she  trusted  in  the  Lord.  She  knew  that  she 
had  a  God  to  go  to,  who  never  leaves  nor  forsakes 
his  confiding  saints ;  and  so  she  possessed  her  soul 
in  patience  and  in  peace.  Making  no  outcry,  and 
giving  no  intimation  that  she  observed  anything 
wrong,  she  quietly  closed  the  door,  locked  it  on  the 
inside,  as  she  was  in  the  habit  of  doing,  leisurely 
brushed  her  hair,  seeking  the  while,  no  doubt,  the 
help  and  guidance  of  the  Lord  whom  she  served,  and 
putting  on  her  dressing-gown,  she  took  her  Bible 


28  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

and  calmly  sat  down  to  read  the  word  of  God,  that 
word  which  is  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than 
a  two-edged  sword,  piercing  to  the  dividing  asunder 
of  the  soul  and  spirit,  and  discerning  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart. 

Guided  of  the  Lord,  she  selected  a  portion  of 
Scripture,  perhaps  the  ninety-first  Psalm,  or  if  not 
this,  some  passage  which  recites  the  watchful  care  of 
God  over  his  people  by  night  and  by  day.  She  read 
aloud.  Never  was  a  chapter  so  read  before.  In  that 
lonely  house,  with  a  desperate  robber  hidden  in  the 
room,  that  helpless  woman  read  out  the  mighty 
promises  of  Him  whose  word  can  never  fail,  and 
stayed  her  soul  upon  those  assurances  of  divine  pro- 
tection which  cannot  disappoint  the  hopes  of  the 
trusting  children  of  the  Most  High.  Her  heart 
gained  strength  as  she  read  the  words  of  truth,  and 
closing  the  book  she  kneeled  and  prayed  to  God, 
and  prayed  as  she  had  never  prayed  before.  She 
told  the  Lord  her  helplessness  and  need ;  she  com- 
mended herself  and  her  servants  in  their  defenceless- 
ness  and  loneliness  to  the  care  of  a  protecting  God ; 
she  dwelt  upon  their  utter  lack  of  all  human  defence, 
and  clung  to  the  sacred  promises  which  were  given 
for  comfort  in  the  hours  of  trouble  and  distress. 
She  lingered  long  in  supplication,  for  it  was  her 
hour  of  need,  and  she  came  boldly  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  for  every  other  refuge  was  in  vain.  At  last 
she  rose  from  her  knees,  put  out  her  candle  and  laid 
down  upon  her  bed, — but  not  to  sleep. 

And  how  felt  the  wretched  man  this  while  ?     He 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  29 

was  bold,  he  was  bad,  he  had  companions  near,  and 
in  his  desperation  was  prepared  for  any  struggle  or 
for  any  crime ;  but  how  must  he  have  felt  to  hear 
the  promises  of  the  Almighty  God  read  forth,  and  to 
listen  to  the  pleading  voice  of  that  helpless  woman, 
as  she  poured  out  her  prayer  to  the  God  of  her  life  ! 

Soon  after  the  woman  had  laid  down,  she  became 
conscious  that  the  man  was  standing  by  her  bedside. 
He  spoke  to  her  in  a  voice  very  different,  we  may  be 
sure,  from  his  usual  tone ;  begged  her  not  to  be 
alarmed,  and  said,  "  I  came  here  to  rob  the  house, 
and  if  necessary  to  kill  you ;  and  I  have  companions 
out  in  the  garden  ready  to  obey  my  call  for  help. 
But  after  hearing  the  words  you  have  read  and  the 
prayers  you  have  uttered,  no  power  on  earth  could 
induce  me  to  hurt  you  or  to  touch  a  thing  in  your 
house.  If  you  had  given  the  slightest  alarm  or 
token  of  resistance,  I  had  fully  determined  to  murder 
you,  and  it  was  God's  good  guidance  that  led  you  to 
pursue  the  course  you  took.  You  must  still  remain 
perfectly  quiet,  and  not  attempt  to  interfere  with  me. 
I  shall  now  give  a  signal  to  my  companions  which 
they  will  understand,  and  then  we  will  go  away  and 
you  may  sleep  in  peace,  for  I  give  you  my  solemn 
word,  no  one  shall  harm  you,  and  not  the  smallest 
thing  belonging  to  you  shall  be  disturbed." 

He  then  went  to  the  window  and  opened  it,  and 
whistled  softly,  as  a  signal  to  his  comrades  to  disperse 
to  a  distance,  and  returning  to  the  bedside  of  the 
lady,  who  had  neither  spoken  nor  moved  throughout 
the  whole,  he  said,  "  Now  I  am  going.  Your  prayer 


30  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

has  been  heard,  and  no  disaster  will  befall  you.  But  I 
never  heard  such  words  before  ;  I  must  have  the  book 
you  read  out  of;"  and  taking  her  Bible,  willingly 
enough  given,  you  may  be  sure,  he  bade  her  good- 
night and  disappeared  through  the  open  window. 

Directly  all  was  quiet,  and  the  lady  composed 
herself  to  sleep,  upheld  by  that  faith  and  grace  which 
had  so  signally  sustained  her  in  her  hour  of  trial ; 
and  awoke  in  the  morning  to  give  thanks  to  Him 
who  had  covered  her  with  his  feathers,  and  pre- 
served her  from  "  the  terror  by  night,"  and  been  to 
her  a  rock  of  refuge  and  a  fortress  of  deliverance  in 
her  hour  of  need. 

But  how  fared  the  robber?  He  came  for  treasure, 
and  he  got  it.  He  sought  gold  and  silver,  and  gained 
the  law  of  God  that  is  better  than  thousands  of  silver 
and  gold.  He  carried  that  away  with  him  which 
outweighs  all  treasures,  and  shall  outlast  the  world— 
the  word  of  God  that  liveth  and  abideth  forever. 
No  doubt  this  praying  woman  remembered  him 
before  the  throne,  but  neither  she  nor  any  one  else 
could  trace  him  in  all  his  course  of  sin  or  sorrow 
through  the  world.  But  God  followed  him;  the 
Holy  Spirit  pursued  him,  and  the  message  of  God's 
mercy  was  in  his  hands,  and  for  the  result  we  must 
wait  and  hope. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1867,  an  aged  lady,  Mrs. 

Hannah  P ,  fell  asleep  in  Christ,  in  the  city  of 

Boston.  It  was  not  our  privilege  to  know  her 
personally,  though  acquainted  with  a  member  of 
her  family ;  and  at  his  request  we  endeavored  once  to 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  31 

call  upon  her,  but  failed  to  find  the  place  of  her 
residence.  She  was  a  native  of  England,  and  the 
daughter  of  one  of  the  godly  Methodist  women  of 
olden  time.  In  her  old  age  her  memory  lingered 
lovingly  about  the  scenes  of  her  youth,  and  fre- 
quently she  would  relate  to  the  younger  members 
of  her  family  the  tales  of  her  early  English  life. 

One  time,  she  said,  when  she  was  but  a  little  girl, 
she  went  with  her  mother  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the 
Bible  Society,  or  some  religious  society  in  Yorkshire, 
England.  After  several  noted  clergymen  and  others 
had  addressed  the  meeting,  a  man  arose,  who  stated 
that  he  was  employed  as  one  of  the  book-hawkers  of 
the  society,  and  told  the  story  of  that  midnight  scene, 
as  a  testimony  to  the  living,  saving  energy  of  the 
word  of  God,  declaring  that,  through  the  influence 
of  that  Bible  and  the  prayers  of  that  Christian  woman, 
the  robber  was  led  to  Christ  for  mercy  and  salvation. 
He  paused  in  his  narration,  and  as  the  assembly, 
thrilled  by  his  story,  waited  breathless  for  the  con- 
clusion, he  said,  "  /  was  that  man."  Instantly  an 
elderly  lady  rose  from  her  seat  in  the  midst  of  the 
congregation,  and  quietly  said,  "  It  is  all  quite  true  ; 
I  was  that  lady,"  and  sat  down  again. 

Many  years  had  elapsed  since  the  lady  and  the 
robber  parted,  and  she  had  never  heard  of  him  before 
that  day.  But  the  Lord  had  watched  and  guided, 
led  and  saved  that  sinful  man,  and  he  stood  forth  a 
monument  of  the  wonderful  providence  and  saving 
grace  of  God. 

We    had   met   this   story   some  time  since   in  a 


32  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

published  volume.  A  year  ago  or  more,  a  Christian 
brother,  having  read  the  articles  in  THE  CHRISTIAN 
on  "  The  Guiding  Hand,"  sent  us  the  account  in 
manuscript.  More  recently  we  find  the  story  credited 
to  the  London  Packet,  in  the  October  number  of 
which  the  first  part  of  it  appeared,  while  in  a  subse- 
quent number  the  editor  stated  that  he  had  received 
a  letter  fully  corroborating  the  previous  account  of 
the  lady  and  the  robber,  and  narrating  the  additional 
facts  of  their  subsequent  meeting  at  the  anniversary 
of  the  society,  of  which  the  editor  had  not  heard 
when  the  first  part  of  the  story  was  published  in  the 
Packet. 

The  gentleman  who  furnished  the  manuscript 
account  of  these  circumstances  having  lately  called 
at  the  Eepository,  we  showed  him  the  article  copied 
from  the  London  publication.  He  had  never  met 
with  the  story  in  print  before  ;  but  stated  that  he  had 
frequently  heard  his  mother-in-law,  Mrs.  H— 

P ,  relate  the  account  of  the  anniversary  which 

she  attended  with  her  mother  when  she  was  a  little 
girl,  and  of  the  story  told  by  the  converted  robber, 
and  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  the  lady  who  was 
present  to  hear  him. 

From  these  independent  sources  we  compile  this 
account,  and  we  present  it  as  an  illustration  of  the 
protecting  care  of  the  Almighty  God,  as  a  proof  of 
the  safety  of  trusting  in  him,  as  an  example  of  the 
power  of  his  living  Word,  and  of  the  mysterious 
ways  by  which  he  seeks  and  saves  the  lost ;  and  as  a 
fresh  encouragement  to  every  child  of  God  to  accept 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  33 

with  patient  trust  each  trial  which  may  come,  relying 
upon  that  gracious  providence  of  Him,  who,  having 
fitted  us  to  be  used  of  the  Lord  as  vessels  of  mercy 
and  messengers  of  grace  to  men,  shall  show  us,  either 
here  or  else  hereafter,  that  all  things  work  together 
for  our  good,  and  that  He  who  worketh  all  things 
after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  shall  glorify  him- 
self alike  in  our  willing  service  and  in  our  patient 
trust. 

-       PROVIDENTIAL  ILLNESS. 

An  English  gentleman,  doing  an  extensive  business 
in  a  distant  part  of  the  country,  left  his  house  some 
years  ago,  with  an  intention  of  going  to  Bristol ;  but, 
when  he  had  proceeded  about  half  way,  he  was  taken 
ill,  and  detained  several  days.  As  the  fair  by  this 
time  was  in  a  considerable  degree  over,  he  returned 
home.  Some  years  after,  the  same  gentleman,  hap- 
pening to  be  at  the  place  where  the  assizes  for  the 
county  were  held,  was  induced  to  be  present  at  the 
execution  of  a  criminal. 

While  he  was  mixed  with  the  crowd,  the  criminal 
perceived  him,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  speak  with 
him.  On  the  gentleman's  approaching  him,  he  asked, 
"  Do  you  recollect  at  such  a  time  intending  to  be  at 
Bristol  fair?"  "Yes,  perfectly  well."  "It  is  well 
that  you  did  not  go,  for  I  and  several  others,  who 
knew  that  you  had  a  considerable  sum  of  money  about 
you,  had  resolved  to  waylay  and  rob,  and  then  mur- 
der you,  to  prevent  detection." 
2 


34  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

ANN  YOUNG'S  TEXT. 

Above  a  century  ago,  in  a  sequestered  part  of 
Scotland,  a  hard- working  couple  were  struggling 
through  life,  and  frequently  found  it  difficult  to  gain 
a  bare  subsistence,  and  provide  even  necessaries  for 
their  young  family.  But  though  their  lot  was  cast 
among  the  poor  of  this  earth,  they  were  honest. 
They  lived  in  a  thinly-peopled  neighborhood,  remote 
from  town  or  village,  and  indeed  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  any  habitation  whatever.  The  poor 
man  could  generally  contrive  to  earn  a  scanty  sub- 
sistence, barely  sufficient  to  maintain  his  wife  and 
four  children.  At  times,  indeed,  his  means  of  sup- 
port were  cut  oif;  for,  though  industrious  when  he 
could  procure  work,  his  employment  at  best  was 
precarious.  In  that  secluded  district,  where  there 
were  few  resident  gentry,  his  resources  in  this  respect 
were  limited  and  uncertain ;  and  sometimes  this 
worthy  couple  were  reduced  to  great  necessity  for 
want  of  food,  when  they  experienced  unexpected 
interpositions  of  Providence ,  by  which  help  was  sent 
to  them  in  the  most  unlocked  for  manner.  Thus 
God  often  reveals  himself  to  his  chosen  ones,  and  in 
time  of  their  need  proves  that  he  is  *  *  a  very  present 
help  in  trouble." 

At  some  miles'  distance  from  this  humble  cottage, 
was  the  residence  of  an  excellent  Christian  lady 
whose  piety  and  active  benevolence  had  gained  her 
the  love  and  esteem  of  all  the  neighborhood.  Lady 
Kilmarnock  devoted  her  time  and  fortune  to  doing 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  35 

good,  and  was  indeed  a  blessing  to  those  around  her. 
These  worthy  cottagers  had  been  frequent  objects  of 
her  bounty,  and  through  her  aid  they  had  often 
obtained  most  seasonable  relief.  But,  though  Ann 
Young — for  that  was  the  former  name  of  the  cot- 
tager's wife,  by  which  she  was  still  known  in  the 
neighborhood — had  formerly  been  a  servant  in  her 
family,  yet  such  was  her  repugnance  to  appear  bur- 
densome to  her  benefactress,  that  it  was  seldom 
indeed  that  when  in  want  her  distress  was  made 
known  by  herself. 

It  came  to  pass  on  one  occasion  that  these  poor 
people  were  reduced  to  the  greatest  extremity  of 
want;  all  their  resources  had  failed.  Their  little 
store  of  provisions  gradually  diminished,  till  they 
were  exhausted.  Her  children  had  received  the  last 
morsel  she  could  furnish,  yet  she  was  not  cast  down, 
for  Ann  Young  was  indeed  a  Christian.  She  knew 
in  whom  she  had  believed  ;  she  had  learned  to  trust 
in  the  loving-kindness  of  her  God,  when  apparently 
cut  off  from  human  aid  ;  and  having  found  by  expe- 
rience that  man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity, 
she  did  not  despond. 

The  day,  however,  passed  slowly  over,  and  no 
prospect  of  succor  appeared.  Night  came  at  last, 
and  still  no  relief  was  vouchsafed  to  them.  The 
children  were  crying  for  their  supper,  and  because 
there  was  none  to  give  them,  their  mother  undressed 
them  and  put  them  to  bed,  where  they  soon  cried 
themselves  to  sleep.  Their  father  was  much  dejected, 
and  likewise  went  to  bed,  leaving  Ann  in  solitary 


36  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

possession  of  the  room.  And  yet  she  felt  not  alone ; 
many  sweet  hours  had  she  spent  in  that  little  cottage 
apart  from  the  world,  with  her  Bible  and  her  God. 
Precious  had  these  opportunities  ever  been  to  her, 
of  pouring  out  her  soul  to  God — of  spreading  her 
sorrows,  her  trials,  all  before  him,  and  giving  vent 
to  a  full,  and  now,  alas  !  a  heavy  heart. 

Having  seen  her  children  safely  at  rest,  she  made 
up  the  peat  fire  on  the  hearth,  that  she  might  not 
afterwards  be  disturbed  for  the  night.  She  then 
trimmed  and  lighted  the  little  cruisy — a  small  iron 
vessel  which  served  as  a  lamp — and  hung  it  upon  its 
accustomed  place  on  the  wall,  and  moved  the  clean 
oaken  table  near  it,  and  having  taken  a  large  family 
Bible  from  among  the  six  or  eight  well-read,  well- 
worn  volumes  on  the  book-shelf,  deposited  it  upon 
it.  She  paused,  however,  before  opening  the  sacred 
volume,  to  implore  a  blessing  on  its  contents,  when 
the  following  text  involuntarily  came  into  her  mind  : 
*  <  For  every  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine ,  and  the  cattle 
upon  a  thousand  hills." 

The  text,  thought  Ann,  is  not  very  applicable  to 
my  present  condition — and  opening  her  Bible  she 
proceeded  to  look  out  for  some  of  her  favorite  pas- 
sages of  Scripture.  Yet,  "  For  every  beast  of  the 
forest  is  mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills," 
was  uppermost  in  her  thoughts.  She  knelt  down 
and  committed  her  case  to  the  Hearer  and  Answerer 
of  prayer ;  and  then  tried  to  recall  former  experience 
— to  bring  to  remembrance  the  promises  of  God,  and 
those  portions  of  Scripture  which  used  to  come  home 


THE   GUIDING   SAND.  37 

with  power  to  her  heart ;  but  without  now  feeling 
that  lively  pleasure  and  satisfaction  she  had  ever 
found  in  the  word  of  God.  The  text,  "  For  every 
beast  of  the  forest  is  mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a 
thousand  hills,"  seemed  fastened  to  her  memory, 
and,  despite  of  every  effort,  she  could  not  banish  it 
from  her  mind.  Yet,  thought  Ann,  it  is  God's  own 
word ;  and  she  read  the  fiftieth  Psalm,  in  which  the 
text  is  contained.  It  was,  she  thought,  a  beautiful 
psalm,  but  many  verses  in  it  appeared  to  her  more 
suited  to  her  condition  than  the  one  already  quoted. 
Again  she  prayed,  hoping  that,  while  presenting  her 
supplication  before  the  throne  of  grace,  she  might 
forget  it;  but  with  no  better  success.  Still  she 
endeavored  to  encourage  her  drooping  heart  with  the 
belief,  nay,  God's  blessed  assurance  of  the  efficacy  of 
earnest,  persevering  prayer,  and  continued  her  occu- 
pation, alternately  supplicating  in  prayer  and  reading 
her  Bible,  until  midnight.  Indeed,  early  dawn  found 
her  engaged  at  this  same  employment.  At  length 
daylight  appeared  through  the  little  casement,  when 
a  loud,  impatient  rap  was  heard  at  the  door. 

"  Who's  there  ?  "  said  Ann. 

A  voice  from  without  answered — "  A  friend." 

"  But  who  is  a  friend?"  she  replied.  " What  are 
you?" 

"  I'm  a  drover;  and  quick,  mistress,  and  open  the 
door,  and  come  out  and  help  me.  And  if  there's  a 
man  in  the  house,  tell  him  also  to  come  out  with  all 
speed,  for  one  of  my  cattle  has  fallen  down  a  preci- 
pice and  broken  its  leg,  and  is  lying  at  your  door." 


38  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

On  opening  the  door,  what  was  the  first  object 
that  met  the  astonished  gaze  of  Ann  ?  A  large  drove 
of  cattle,  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  As  far  as 
eye  could  reach  in  either  direction,  the  road  was 
black » with  the  moving  mass,  which  the  man  was 
driving  on  to  the  market  in  the  south.  And  there 
lay  the  disabled  beast,  its  leg  broken — the  poor 
drover  standing  by,  looking  ruefully  over  it — his 
faithful  colley  dog  by  his  side,  gazing  up  as  if  in 
sympathy  with  his  master,  and  as  if  he  understood 
his  dilemma,  and  knew  also  that  his  services  could 
now  be  of  no  avail. 

The  worthy  couple  were  concerned  for  the  poor 
drover,  and  evinced  every  willingness  to  assist  him 
in  his  misfortune,  had  it  been  in  their  power.  He, 
in  his  turn,  felt  at  loss  to  know  how  he  should 
dispose  of  the  animal,  and  paused  to  consider  what 
course  he  ought  to  pursue.  But  the  more  he  thought 
over  the  catastrophe,  the  more  his  perplexity  in- 
creased. 

To  drive  on  the  maimed  beast  was  obviously 
impossible.  To  sell  it  there,  seemed  equally  so. 
At  a  distance  from  a  market,  it  would  not  be  easy  to 
find  a  purchaser ;  and  by  remaining  in  that  place 
long  enough  to  do  so,  he  must  likewise  detain  the 
whole  herd  of  cattle,  which  would  incur  more  expense 
than  the  animal  was  worth. 

What  was  to  be  done?  The  drover  drew  his 
Highland  plaid  tighter  round  him.  He  shifted  and 
replaced  his  bonnet  from  one  side  of  his  head  to  the 
other.  "I  never,"  he  at  length  exclaimed,  "was 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  39 

more  completely  brought  to  my  wit's  end  in  my 
life  ;"  and  then  turning  to  Ann,  he  added,  "  Deed, 
mistress,  I  must  just  make  you  a  present  of  it,  for  in 
truth  I  don't  know  what  else  I  can  do  with  it ;  so 
kill  it,  and  take  care  of  it,  for  it  is  a  principal  beast. 
I'll  answer  for  it,  a  mart  like  that  has  never  come 
within  your  door."  And,  without  waiting  for  thanks, 
he  whistled  on  his  dog  and  joined  the  herd,  which 
was  soon  moving  slowly  on  its  weary  journey. 

The  poor  cottagers  were  lost  in  wonder  at  this 
unexpected  deliverance  from  famine,  by  so  signal  an 
interposition  of  Providence.  And  after  they  had  in 
some  measure  recovered  from  the  surprise  such  an 
incident  was  calculated  to  excite,  the  father  assembled 
his  little  family  around  him  to  unite  in  prayer,  and 
to  give  thanks  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  for  this 
new  proof  of  his  condescending  kindness  toward 
them !  Thus  their  prayer  was  now  turned  into 
praise.  He  then  proceeded  to  follow  the  advice  of 
the  drover,  and  found  his  gift,  as  he  told  them,  to 
be  a  "principal  beast."  All  was  then  rejoicing, 
preparation  and  gladness,  with  the  inmates  of  the 
cottage.  They  had  meat  sufficient  to  serve  them  for 
many  months  to  come,  and  in  their  first  joy  they 
totally  forgot  that  they  had  no  bread.  But  He  who 
"commanded  the  ravens  "  to  bring  to  the  prophet 
"  bread  and  flesh,"  did  not  forget  it.  God  does  not 
work  by  halves.  About  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
another  knock  was  heard  at  the  door,  which  this 
time  flew  quickly  open,  when  who  should  present 
hkoself  but  the  "grieve,"  or  bailiflf  of  Lady 


40  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

Kilmarnook,  with  a  load  on  his  back.  He  then 
proceeded  to  relate  how  that  Lady  Kiiraarnock 
sent  for  him  the  previous  morning,  to  inquire  ''if 
anything  had  happened  to  Ann  Young."  To  which 
he  replied,  that  he  was  not  aware  that  she  had  met 
with  any  calamity,  and  that  when  he  last  heard  of 
her  family,  they  were  all  well.  "  Then,"  said  her 
ladyship,  "  she  must  be  in  want;  for  these  few  days 
she  has  been  incessantly  in  my  thoughts  ;  /  cannot 
get  her  out  of  my  head;  and  I  am  sure  she  is  in 
distress.  So  take  a  sack  of  meal  to  her — a  large 
one,  too,  and  take  it  directly.  You  had  better 
convey  it  yourself,  that  it  may  be  safely  delivered 
to  her,  and  bring  me  word  how  she  is  ;  for  I  know 
she  would  almost  starve  before  she  applied  for 
relief." 

"I  fully  intended,"  added  the  bailiff,  "to  have 
brought  it  yesterday,  as  Lady  Kilmarnock  desired ; 
but  being  more  than  usually  busy  throughout  that 
day,  I  could  not  find  leisure  to  come,  but  determined 
that  my  first  employment  this  morning  would  be  to 
fetch  it  to  you."  Thus  were  these  pious  cottagers, 
by  a  wonderful  interference  of  Providence,  amply 
provided  for,  and  Ann  Young  found  out  why  that 
passage  of  Scripture  had  been  so  impressed  upon  her 
mind,  and  learned  to  understand  more  fully  than  she 
did  before,  the  meaning  of  that  old,  and  yet  new, 
and  true,  and  faithful  word  of  God,  "  Every  beast 
of  the  forest  is  mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand 
hills." 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  41 

A  PASTOK'S  STOKY. 

It  was  December.  My  quarter's  salary,  the  last 
for  the  year,  had  been  paid  me  with  the  usual  prompt- 
ness. I  don't  wish  to  blame  my  people  in  the  least 
—in  many  things  they  are  very  kind  to  their  minis- 
ter and  family.  But  the  plain  fact  is,  that  during  no 
year  of  the  five  I  have  been  with  them,  has  my  salary 
met  necessary  home  expenses.  We  have  tried  to 
economize  in  every  way ;  but  as  yet  are  unable  to 
make  the  two  ends  of  the  year  meet  on  the  salary. 

We  were  particularly  tried  during  the  month  men- 
tioned. The  weather  without  was  not  more  gloomy 
than  the  state  of  things  within  doors.  My  three 
eldest  children  were  down  with  the  whooping-cough  ; 
a  little  babe  of  only  a  few  weeks  was  daily  threat- 
ened ;  my  wife  lay  prostrate  on  a  bed  of  sickness  ;  I 
myself  was  struggling  with  the  severest  cough  that 
had  yet  overtaken  me ;  our  hired  help  had  left  and 
we  could  obtain  no  one  to  take  her  place ;  and  one 
of  the  worst  features  of  the  case  was  that  I  Was 
entirely  out  of  pocket,  not  two  months  of  my  quarter 
having  passed  before  every  cent  of  my  salary  was 
spent — a  most  unusual  circumstance,  for  ordinarily 
it  would  last  me  till  within  a  couple  of  weeks  of  the 
close  of  the  quarter.  Six  weeks  were  before  me, 
during  which  I  would  receive  no  remuneration  by 
which  to  meet  the  expenses  that  would  not  stop. 

I  saw  no  way  of  relief.  I  could  calculate  on  no 
outside  income  of  my  own  ;  I  had  none.  My  credit 
at  the  stores  was  good ;  but  to  avail  myself  of  it 


42  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

would  inevitably  plunge  me  in  debt,  for  which  my 
next  quarter's  salary  would  not  be  sufficient.  I 
dared  not  draw  from  the  little  I  had  laid  aside  for 
the  rainy  days  of  the  future  ;  for  when  or  how  should 
I  be  able  to  replace  it?  The  prospect  before  me 
was  dark.  Thoughts  of  it  soon  began  to  affect  the 
peace  of  my  mind.  I  could  no  longer  apply  myself 
calmly  to  sermon  labor  and  pastoral  duty.  I  even 
looked  around  for  some  employment  other  than  my 
regular  one,  wherewith  to  turn  an  honest  penny,  but 
every  door  was  closed.  I  could  endure  the  tension 
of  thought — the  daily  worry — no  longer.  I  resolved 
to  lay  the  whole  case  before  the  Lord  in  prayer. 
With  this  end  in  view,  I  first  carefully  estimated 
how  much  I  needed  to  carry  me  through  the  remain- 
ing weeks  of  the  quarter,  and  clear  me  from  all  debt. 
It  would  take,  I  thought,  about  one  hundred  dollars. 
I  next  wrote  out  my  prayer,  that  I  might  afterwards 
know  just  what  I  had  asked  for,  what  promises  I  had 
plead,  and  with  what  sort  of  a  spirit  I  had  prayed. 

This  written  prayer  I  took  to  my  closet  and  laid 
before  the  Lord.  I  asked  for  these  three  things  : 
that  I  might  not  get  into  debt ;  that  I  might  not  be 
compelled  to  draw  from  the  little  I  had  laid  aside 
for  the  future  ;  and  that  I  might  have  one  hundred 
dollars — or  such  sum  as  the  Lord  knew  I  needed  to 
carry  me  through  the  quarter. 

After  prayer,  I  somehow  became  very  calm. 
Things  did  not  look  quite  so  dark.  I  felt  that  in  some 
way  the  Guiding  Hand  would  appear.  Now,  note 
the  result.  It  was  that  same  evening  I  believe,  at  a 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  43 

very  late  hour,  when  my  door  bell  was  suddenly 
rung.  In  some  surprise  I  responded  to  the  summons. 
A  stranger  stood  before  me.  He  came,  he  said,  to 
have  me  attend  the  wedding  ceremony  of  his  daugh- 
ter. I  inquired  into  the  circumstances,  and  found 
that  the  parties  were  to  have  been  married  in  Boston, 
but  on  account  of  the  mother's  health,  had  unex- 
pectedly changed  their  plans,  and  were  to  be  married 
at  home.  Of  course  I  consented  to  go.  As  he  left 
me  I  said  to  myself,  « «  My  first  five  toward  the  one 
hundred  dollars.  The  Lord  means  that  I  shall  work 
it  out.  Most  willing  am  I,  if  he  will  only  give  me 
something  to  do." 

A  few  days  after  this  came  our  Sunday-school 
Christmas  festival.  It  was  a  season  of  much  inno- 
cent merriment  to  the  children.  The  Christmas  tree 
was  heavily  laden,  and  Santa  Claus  was  profuse  with 
his  gifts.  Perhaps,  thought  I,  the  Lord  will  remem- 
ber me  to-night ;  but  not  a  penny  was  announced  for 
the  pastor. 

Nothing  disturbed  in  my  faith,  I  was  turning  to 
leave,  when  a  gentleman  accosted  me,  one  who  held 
a  bill  of  a  barrel  of  flour  against  me.  It  was  one  of 
the  things  that  had  given  me  trouble.  He  held  in 
his  hand  the  bill,  and  with  a  good-natured  smile, 
said  he  wished  to  make  me  a  little  Christmas  present. 
He  then  handed  me  the  bill  receipted.  It  amounted 
to  ten  dollars  and  sixty  cents.  Saying  a  few  words 
of  thanks  and  remarking  on  the  timeliness  of  the 
gift,  I  returned  home  with  a  lighter  heart. 

A  few  days  after  this,  a  neighboring  pastor  called 


44  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

and  asked  me  to  exchange  with  him  the  next  Sunday. 
Being  in  no  mood  for  pulpit  preparation,  on  account 
of  domestic  care,  I  consented  and  went.  It  was  a 
dismal  day.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents  incessantly. 
Only  a  scattering  few  were  present.  All  my  efforts 
that  day  seemed  to  me  the  veriest  commonplace. 
At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  service,  and  before  I 
could  leave  the  pulpit,  a  gentleman  hastily  came  up 
and  took  his  seat  by  my  side.  I  had  been  introduced 
to  him  that  day.  He  kindly  inquired  how  I  was  to 
return,  etc.,  and  then,  on  leaving  me,  put  into  my 
hand  a  bill.  He  pressed  the  gift  upon  me  so  deli- 
cately, that  I  consented  to  take  it.  On  going  home 
I  looked  at  the  bill  and  found  it  was  five  dollars.  I 
have  been  a  minister  for  twelve  years,  but  this  was 
the  first  time  that  I  had  received  a  gift  in  the  'pulpit 
and  on  the  Lord's  day. 

I  now  felt  more  certain  than  ever  that  God  was 
answering  my  prayer.  In  a  few  days,  I  had  received 
from  most  unexpected  quarters,  twenty  dollars 
toward  the  one  hundred  I  had  asked  for.  After 
this,  twenty-two  days  elapsed ;  and  one  Monday 
evening,  as  I  was  sitting  with  my  wife,  talking  about 
the  matters  of  the  day,  but  all  the  while  inwardly 
wondering  whether  the  Lord  would  suffer  me  to 
begin  my  new  quarter,  which  was  only  six  days  off, 
in  debt,  we  were  startled  by  a  nervous  ring  of  the 
door  bell.  On  opening  the  door  the  friend  who  had 
remembered  me  so  pleasantly  on  Christmas  eve, 
entered.  He  had  been  a  frequent  visitor  before,  and 
his  presence  now  raised  no  expectations.  After  an 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  45 

hour's  chatty  conversation  he  arose  to  leave.  I 
accompanied  him  to  the  door  with  the  light.  As  I 
extended  my  hand  to  shake  good-night,  he  left  a  roll 
of  bills  in  it.  Before  I  had  time  to  express  my 
astonishment,  he  had  gone.  Not  having  given  me 
the  slightest  intimation  of  what  was  coming,  this 
almost  midnight  gift  seemed  like  something  dropped 
from  the  skies.  We  opened  the  roll  and  counted 
seventy-five  dollars .  *  '  Within  five  dollars  of  my 
hundred!"  I  exclaimed.  "This  will  suffice.  My 
prayer  is  substantially  answered."  What  gratitude 
swelled  in  my  heart  that  night.  And  the  next  day 
how  laughingly  I  went  to  the  stores,  and  left  word 
at  each  to  make  out  their  respective  bills  !  And 
with  what  joy  I  speedily  cashed  them  all !  Once 
more  I  was  out  of  debt — and  what  to  me  was  very 
strange,  I  had  some  money  left.  But  why  forget  the 
five  loaves  and  twelve  baskets  of  fragments  ? 

Previous  to  this  event,  while  in  one  of  our  church 
gatherings,  I  had  been  invited  to  visit  a  lady  who 
had  formerly  been  constant  at  our  service.  In  the 
press  of  my  ministerial  duties,  I  had  almost  forgotten 
this  follower  of  the  Lord.  I  was  glad  to  be  told  that 
a  visit  from  me  would  be  welcomed.  A  few  days 
after  the  Monday  I  have  just  spoken  of,  while  sitting 
in  my  room,  I  became  strongly  impressed  to  go  at 
once  and  see  this  lady.  I  did  so.  The  day  was 
mild  and  sunny.  After  spending  considerable  time 
in  profitable  religious  conversation,  I  rose  to  leave. 
"  Stop  a  moment,"  she  said,  and  then  left  the  room. 
I  wondered;  but  imagined  she  had  gone  to  get  a 


46  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

book  to  read,  or  to  prepare  something  to  have  me 
take  home  to  my  wife.  She  quickly  returned  ;  and 
then  extended  to  me  her  hand  with  a  bill  in  it,  asking 
me  to  accept  it,  I  could  not  do  so  at  first,  telling 
her  I  had  no  need  of  it ;  but  she  had  so  many  reasons 
why  I  should  take  it  that  I  reluctantly  consented. 
On  my  way  home  I  looked  at  the  gift.  It  was  five 
dollars. 

This  made  up  the  hundred.  In  two  days  more 
my  quarter  would  end.  In  just  thirty-six  days  from 
the  time  I  offered  my  prayer,  the  whole  answer  came. 

One  circumstance  I  afterwards  learned  with  respect 
to  the  seventy-five  dollars.  It  came  from  three 
individuals  only.  Each  of  them  agreed  to  give  as 
much  as  the  other  would.  One  started  with  twenty- 
five  dollars;  so  the  three  gave  twenty-five  apiece. 
The  friend  who  brought  me  the  gift  was  overheard 
saying  some  time  after,  that  he  was  sorry  he  had  not 
doubled  his  gift.  Instead  of  seventy-five,  then,  I 
would  have  received  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 
Was  it  because  I  had  asked  for  the  one  hundred  only, 
that  my  friend  did  not  yield  to  his  first  impulse  ? 

I  gather  the  above  facts  from  my  journal,  where  I 
wrote  them  at  the  time,  and  I  hope  that  some  strug- 
gling disciples  will  be  encouraged  by  this  recital  to 
be  anxious  about  nothing,  but  in  everything  by 
prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  to  let 
their  requests  be  made  known  unto  God. 

Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears, 

Hope,  and  be  undismayed : 
God  hears  thy  sighs  and  counts  thy  tears : 

God  shall  lift  up  thy  head. 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  47 

THE  LITTLE  ANCHOB. 

About  fifty  years  ago  there  lived  in  Marblehead, 
Mass.,  a  God-fearing  sea-captain  named  Richard 
Girdler,  who  sought  to  make  his  vessel  a  place  of 
prayer,  and  who  trusted  in  God  amid  the  perils  of 
the  mighty  deep. 

One  night  he  was  called  upon  to  take  charge  of  the 
brig  Farns worth,  in  which  he  had  sailed  to  Antwerp 
the  preceding  April,  and  which  was  now  laden  and 
lying  in  the  stream,  all  ready  for  another  voyage. 

Having  arranged  matters  with  the  owners,  Captain 
Girdler  went  on  board  the  brig  next  morning,  and 
found  everything  ready,  with  one  exception.  In  his 
opinion,  before  starting  on  so  long  a  voyage,  the  ves- 
sel needed  another  hawser  and  a  kedge,  which,  as  our 
sea- faring  readers  know,  is  a  small  anchor,  not  in- 
tended for  security  from  storms,  but  used  in  calm 
weather,  to  steady  the  vessel,  or  by  carrying  it  off  to 
a  distance  in  a  boat,  to  "warp"  or  move  a  ship  to 
another  position  when  wind  and  tide  do  not  serve. 
He  laid  the  matter  before  the  owners,  and  received 
orders  to  procure  a  kedge,  and  go  back  to  Marblehead 
and  obtain  a  suitable  hawser  for  it. 

The  kedge  was  easily  found,  but  he  could  not  get 
such  a  hawser  as  fre  wanted  in  all  Marblehead,  and 
there  was  no  rope-walk  there  long  enough  to  "lay," 
or  twist  one,  and  the  weather  was  too  rainy  to  do  it 
out  of  doors.  But  he  would  not  go  without  his  haw- 
ser, and  was  finally  obliged  to  have  it  laid  in  two 
glats,  or  pieces,  of  sixty  fathoms  each,  which,  when 


48  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

joined  together,  made  a  strong  hawser  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  fathoms,  or  seven  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  in  length. 

Thus  provided,  the  Far ns worth  cleared  from  the 
port  of  Boston  for  Liberia,  October  3,  1826,  and 
sailed  on  her  destined  voyage.  During  the  passage 
the  service  of  God  was  not  forgotten  ;  family  worship 
was  regularly  maintained  when  the  weather  would 
permit ;  and  all  who  could  be  spared  from  duty  were 
invited  to  attend,  though  two  of  the  crew,  who  were 
Roman  Catholics,  would  not  accept  the  invitation. 

About  the  first  of  December,  1826,  the  Farnsworth 
reached  the  bay  of  Gibraltar,  and  came  to  anchor, 
and  remained  there  some  days,  with  hundreds  of 
other  vessels  that  were  moored  in  the  bay.  On  the 
sixth  of  the  month  the  weather  looked  threatening, 
and  a  gale  seemed  approaching.  They  made  such 
preparations  as  they  could  for  the  fearful  encounter, 
— all  the  anchors  were  over,  the  small  bower,  and 
the  best  bower ;  and  the  little  kedge,  with  the  whole 
new  hawser  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  fathoms,  was 
carried  out,  and  everything  was  made  trim  and  snug 
for  the  coming  storm. 

They  had  not  long  to  wait.  The  wind  freshened  ; 
at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  gale  burst  upon 
them  with  tremendous  power,  and  at  eleven  o'clock 
it  blew  a  perfect  hurricane.  Not  less  than  three 
hundred  vessels  of  all  classes  and  descriptions  had 
found  anchorage  there,  and  the  effect  of  such  a  gale 
among  them  may  be  imagined.  Cables  parted,  an- 
chors dragged,  rigging  was  torn,  and  rent,  and  swept 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  49 

away,  vessels  drifted  hither  and  thither,  like  corks 
upon  the  water,  dashing  against  each  other  and  upon 
the  shore,  and  consternation  and  dismay  were  on 
every  countenance. 

At  a  quarter  past  eleven  o'clock  the  Farnsworth 
parted  her  small  bower,  and  began  to  drift  with  the 
hurricane  ;  soon  her  best  bower  followed,  and  away 
went  the  brig  before  the  wind.  Up  to  this  time  most 
of  the  vessels  had  gone  on  to  "the  neutral  ground  ;" 
some  of  them  little  injured,  some  bilged,  some  dis- 
abled, some  crushed  by  the  collisions  caused  by  the 
roll  of  larger  vessels,  and  all  in  imminent  peril,  with 
death  and  destruction  stalking  wildly  through  the 
storm. 

Just  at  this  time  the  danger  seemed  to  increase ,  for 
the  wind  had  shifted,  a.nd  the  Farns worth  was  drift- 
ing directly  towards  the  massive  mole  against  whose 
rocky  side  it  seemed  that  it  must  crash  beyond  hope 
of  escape.  A  little  astern  of  her,  a  ship  from  New 
York  had  already  been  dashed  in  pieces  upon  the 
rocks  ;  and  distinctly  visible  through  the  surrounding 
gloom,  lashed  by  the  fury  of  the  winds,  roared  the 
white  breakers,  which  seemed  to  every  one  on  board 
to  be  weaving  for  them  a  sailor's  winding-sheet. 

What  now  could  be  done  ?  No  skill  could  avail, 
no  human  arm  could  save  them,  and  He  who  hushed 
the  brute  waves  of  Gennesaret  with  his  word,  walked 
not  upon  the  dark  waters  to  quiet  their  tumultuous 
rage.  Eefuge  failed  them,  and  they  could  only  pre- 
pare to  meet  their  impending  fate. 

Shrinking  from  their  awful  doom,  they  raised  their 


50  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

cries  to  God,  and  besought  the  captain  to  pray  with 
them.  On  the  very  verge  of  destruction  they  all 
kneeled  upon  the  deck,  while  above  the  voice  of  deep 
calling  unto  deep,  arose  the  captain's  cry  to  Him  who 
was  mighty  to  save.  And  he  was  heard.  He  who 
once  slept  in  the  hinder  part  of  the  vessel,  and  awoke 
to  save  his  disciples  from  the  yawning  waves,  had  a 
care  for  this  ship  where  his  word  was  trusted  and  his 
name  adored ;  and  when  they  arose  from  their  knees 
they  found,  to  their  amazement,  that  their  ship,  which 
had  been  driven  from  her  moorings  when  held  by 
three  anchors,  was  now  heading  towards  the  wind, 
and  riding  securely,  held  only  by  her  little  kedge — 
the  smallest  of  the  whole  ! 

At  midnight  the  gale  abated,  but  the  morning  light 
disclosed  a  fearful  scene.  The  ' '  neutral  ground "  was 
packed  with  ill-fated  vessels,  piled  one  upon  another 
in  terrible  confusion.  Some  had  gone  directly  upon 
the  rocks ,  and  had  been  dashed  in  pieces  there ;  and 
of  three  hundred  vessels  that  were  riding  quietly  at 
anchor  the  day  before,  not  more  than  fifty  remained 
unharmed.  The  rest  were  either  wrecked,  or  more 
or  less  injured  ;  and  the  shore  of  Gibraltar  was  strewn 
with  the  fragments  of  wrecked  vessels  and  the  bodies 
of  the  dead. 

But  how  did  the  Farnsworth  escape?  She  was 
drifting  rapidly  on  to  the  rocks,  and  her  two  strong- 
est cables  and  heaviest  anchors  were  gone.  How 
was  the  vessel  saved  from  impending  ruin  ? 

The  captain  sent  out  a  boat  and  got  up  his  anchors  ; 
but  when  he  came  to  heave  up  his  little  kedge,  he 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  51 

found  it  almost  impossible  to  raise  it.  Slowly  and 
wearily  they  toiled  to  heave  it  up,  and  when  it  came 
under  the  vessel's  bow,  they  saw  with  wonder  that 
the  fluke  of  the  little  kedge  was  hooked  into  the  ring 
of  a  huge  old  Spanish  anchor,  that  weighed  more  than 
three  thousand  pounds  I 

Forty-four  years  before,  in  September,  1782,  a 
Spanish  flotilla  attacked  Gibraltar,  and  Governor 
Elliot,  who  was  then  in  command  there,  poured  a 
storm  of  red-hot  shot  upon  them,  burning,  sinking, 
and  destroying  their  fleet.  This  may  have  been  one 
of  their  anchors  ;  it  may  not ;  no  one  but  God  knows 
who  put  it  there,  and  none  but  He  knew  where  it  lay. 
He  knew  all  about  it,  and  he  "knoweth  how  to  de- 
liver the  godly"  out  of  danger  and  temptation. 

He  would  not  sufler  Captain  Girdler  to  go  to  sea 
without  his  kedge.  A  large  anchor  would  not  answer, 
it  must  be  a  little  kedge,  just  large  enough  to  steady 
a  vessel  while  lying  in  the  stream,  and  small  enough 
so  that  the  fluke  of  it  would  enter  the  ring  of  that 
old  Spanish  anchor  ;  and  it  must  be  fastened  to  a  new 
cable  strong  enough  to  hold  the  brig  amid  the  fury  of 
the  gale.  God  knew  all  about  it,  and  he  knew  just 
when  to  shift  the  wind  to  bring  the  kedge  where  the 
old  anchor  was,  and  so  deliver  them  from  death  by 
the  very  means  that  seemed  to  portend  a  more  swift 
destruction.  Truly,  God  heareth  prayer  ;  and  those 
sailors  thought  so  ;  for  the  two  who  had  refused  to 
join  in  worship  at  the  family  altar  now  refused  no 
more,  being  convinced  that  God  had  heard  and 
answered  Captain  Girdler's  prayers. 


52  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

The  facts  above  stated  are  believed  to  be  authentic  , 
some  of  them  were  published  in  The  Youth's  Com- 
panion (Boston),  for  April,  1848,  and  the  names, 
dates  of  clearance,  etc.,  were  furnished  for  THE 
CHRISTIAN  from  the  records  of  the  Boston  Custom 
House,  and  may  be  relied  on  as  correct. 

THE  FALLING  CHIMNEY. 

Some  persons  believe  in  a  general,  but  deny  a 
special  providence,  forgetting  that  as  the  greater 
includes  the  less,  so  a  general  providence  is  made  up 
of  special  providences.  Zion's  Herald  asks  and 
answers  the  question,  "Is  there  not  a  special  provi- 
dence?" in  the  statement  of  this  recent  and  striking 
fact: 

"  During  the  gale  on  Tuesday,  December  5th,  1871, 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Harris,  of  New  Haven,  who 
delivered  the  course  of  lectures  before  the  Boston 
Theological  Seminary  last  week,  was  sitting  in  his 
own  room,  number  99,  Maryborough  Hotel,  Boston, 
writing.  Being  at  a  loss  for  a  word,  he  clasped  his 
hands  over  the  top  of  his  head,  and  tilted  back  his 
chair  to  meditate.  Scarcely  had  he  done  so,  when  a 
chimney  was  thrown  over,  and  a  mass  of  brick  and 
mortar  came  through  the  roof  and  the  ceiling,  crush- 
ing the  table  on  which  he  had  been  writing.  But 
for  the  position  he  was  in,  he  would  have  been 
instantly  killed.  The  hole  made  in  the  roof  was  at 
least  ten  by  fourteen  feet.  If  this  is  not  a  special 
providence,  what  is?" 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  53 

A  TIMELY  VISIT. 

The  following  interesting  statement,  contained  in 
a  volume  entitled  "Remarkable  Providences,"  is  from 
the  pen  of  a  minister  who  says,  "The  facts  I  received 
but  a  few  evenings  ago  from  an  amiable  lady  of  my 
congregation,  and  may  be  fully  depended  upon, 
though  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  mention  names.  I  will 
give  the  account  as  nearly  as  possible  in  her  own 
words  :" 

"One  afternoon,  in  the  winter  of  about  the  year 

1808,  I  had  occasion  to  go  from  F to  S ,  a 

distance  of  about  two  miles,  and  was  unexpectedly 
detained  till  late  in  the  evening,  when  I  set  out  to 
return  home  alone.  The  night  was  very  frosty  and 
cold,  and  the  ground  was  covered  with  a  deep  snow. 
When  I  had  proceeded  some  short  distance  on  the 
road,  I  was  stopped  by  two  men,  who  were,  I  believe, 
employed  in  the  military  works  in  the  neighborhood. 

They  asked  me  if  I  was  going  to  F ;  I  gave  them 

an  evasive  answer  and  proceeded,  not  a  little  sensible 
of  the  dangerous  circumstances  in  which  I  was  placed. 
I  went  on  a  little  distance,  when  they  again  accosted 
me,  and  once  more  I  found  means  to  give  them  an 
evasive  reply.  They  passed  on  before  me,  and  hid 
themselves  in  the  hedge,  and  as  I  came  near  them,  I 
heard  them  engaged  in  a  conversation  that  roused  all 
my  fears  ;  I  paused  a  moment,  and  then  resolved  to 

return  to  S with  all  possible  speed.     I  set  off 

to  run,  with  one  of  these  men  almost  immediately 
behind  me.  Once  I  fell  on  the  ice  almost  exhausted, 


54  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

but  remembering  that  my  very  life  was  at  stake,  I 
arose,  and  with  aid  communicated  from  on  high,  I 
pursued  my  journey  till  I  reached  the  Turnpike 
House,  into  which  I  ran,  and  fell  in  a  state  of 
exhaustion  into  one  of  the  chairs.  At  some  times 
during  the  pursuit  the  man  was  not  more  than  three 
yards  behind  me. 

'  'In  about  two  hours  I  was  in  some  degree  recovered 
from  my  fright ;  and  that  I  might  not  alarm  my 

friends  at  S with  my  return,  I  resolved  to  spend 

the  night  with  a  pious  old  lady,  a  member  of  your 
church,  who  at  that  time  was  keeping  the  house  of  a 

baronet  in  S ,  who  was  then,  with  all  his  family, 

absent  from  home. 

"Late  at  night,  probably  at  ten  o'clock,  I  arrived 
at  the  house,  and  still  terrified  with  what  I  had 
passed  through,  I  knocked  at  the  different  doors  with 
all  my  might,  but  it  was  long  before  I  received  an 
answer.  At  length  the  old  lady,  who  was  quite 
alone,  came  to  a  small  back  door  situated  among  the 
stables,  to  inquire  who  was  there.  I  mentioned  my 
name,  and  she  opened  the  door  for  my  admission  ;  I 
related  the  circumstances  in  which  I  was  placed,  and 
she  begged  me  to  stay  over  night,  to  which  I  cheer- 
fully assented,  and  accompanied  her  into  the  house. 

"As  we  passed  through  the  different  parts  of  the 
house,  I  could  not  help  remarking  the  circumstance 
that  every  door,  even  those  we  had  to  enter,  and 
from  which  I  supposed  the  old  lady  had  just  passed, 
were  all  carefully  made  secure ;  nor  was  I  a  little 
surprised  to  find  that  she  had  no  refreshment  to  offer 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  55 

me,  except  a  little  bread.  But  as  my  heart  over- 
flowed with  gratitude  for  the  deliverance  I  had 
experienced,  I  felt  but  little  concern  on  that  account. 
We  retired  to  rest,  and  I  left  my  friend  with  feelings 
of  thankfulness  to  the  great  Preserver  of  my  life,  for 
the  escape  I  had  on  the  past  night,  which  I  can  never 
forget. 

"From  this  period  I  could  not  but  be  struck  with 
the  attention  and  kindness  which  the  good  old  lady 
manifested  towards  me.  She  seemed  almost  to  feel 
for  me  an  idolatrous  regard,  and  I  sometimes  felt 
grieved  at  the  trouble  she  gave  herself  to  promote 
my  comfort  whenever  I  paid  her  a  visit. 

"Mark  the  sequel  of  these  events  : — About  the 
year  1818,  as  her  husband  was  dead,  it  was  judged 

desirable   that    she   should    leave   S to   go   to 

reside  with  her  son  in  London.  She  came,  therefore, 
to  take  her  leave  of  me ;  and,  after  some  general 
conversation,  she  said :  '  Miss ,  I  have  some- 
what particular  to  say  to  you.  Do  you  remember 

coining  to  Sir 's  house  to  me  ten  years 

ago?'  *  Certainly  I  do,'  I  replied;  'nor  can  I  ever 
forget  the  deliverance  I  then  experienced.'  'Do 
you  remember  that  you  found  all  the  doors  bolted 
and  barred, — that  I  came  to  you  at  a  door  among  the 
stables, — and  that  I  had  nothing  to  offer  you  for 
your  supper  but  a  morsel  of  bread  ?'  '  Yes,  I  remem- 
ber it  all.'  Here  she  burst  into  tears,  and  as  soon 
as  she  could,  she  told  me  that  at  that  time  she  had 
long  labored  under  very  heavy  depression  of  spirits  ; 
that  she  had  been  tempted  to  destroy  herself;  and 


56  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

that  when  I  went  to  the  house,  she  had  fastened  all 
the  doors,  and  was  passing  down  the  yard  with  a 
determination  to  drown  herself  in  the  sea ;  but  that 
my  coming  in  the  way  I  did,  had  clearly  shown  her 
that  the  interposing  hand  of  God  had  removed  the 
temptation,  and  scattered  the  gloomy  feelings  of  her 
mind.  She  added,  that  she  had  ever  since  endured 
much  grief  on  account  of  the  painful  event ;  that  as 
she  was  not  likely  to  live  very  long,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility should  never  see  me  again,  she  had  come  to 
the  determination,  however  painful  the  task,  to  dis- 
close the  whole  affair,  begging  me  never  to  relate  the 
circumstances  as  long  as  she  lived.  I  acceded  to  her 
request,  nor  was  the  affair  known  even  to  her  own 
family,  till  her  death  had  taken  place." 

A  few  months  after  this  conversation,  she  suddenly 
passed  away  from  a  world  of  sorrow  and  distress, 
comforted  with  the  hope  of  seeing  Jesus,  and  sharing 
the  joys  of  immortality  and  eternal  blessedness  in 
his  presence. 


THOMAS  WILLIAMS'  ESCAPE. 

"Are  not  five  sparrows  sold  for  two  farthings,  and  not  one  of  them  is 
forgotten  before  God?  " 

About  1785,  Thomas  Williams,  by  trade  a  miner, 
and  at  that  time  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  was 
working  in  a  lead  mine  near  Llanarmon,  Denbigh- 
shire, North  Wales.  The  mine  was  under  a  very 
high  mountain,  and  while  Thomas  Williams  and  his 
partner  were  working  at  the  farther  part  of  the  mine. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  57 

a  vast  quantity  of  rubbish  fell  down ,  stopped  up  their 
way,  and  kept  them  closely  confined  forty-eight  hours. 
At  the  expiration  of  this  time  they  were  dug  out  by 
their  partners  ;  neither  of  them  having  sustained  the 
least  damage,  except  what  they  suffered  through  cold. 

About  fourteen  years  ago,  the  same  Thomas  Wil- 
liams was  employed  in  working  in  a  slate  quarry  at 
Cormistone  in  the  North  of  Lancashire.  He  was  one 
day  raised  a  considerable  height  from  the  bottom  of 
the  quarry  in  order  to  loosen  some  stone  near  the 
top,  when  a  large  quantity  of  earth,  and  huge  pieces 
of  rock  gave  way,  and  fell  with  all  their  force  upon 
him,  and  undoubtedly  would  have  crushed  him  to 
death,  had  it  not  been  for  two  of  the  large  stones, 
which,  as  though  designed  for  the  purpose,  met 
together,  and  formed  a  kind  of  arch  over  him.  Hence, 
although  he  was  much  bruised,  in  a  few  weeks  he 
recovered. 

This  day,  June  5th,  1805,  the  same  man,  who  is  now 
a  private  in  the  Second  Regiment  of  Royal  Lancashire 
militia,  Captain  Ridgeway's  company,  being  employed 
with  one  of  his  comrades  in  sinking  a  well  in  this 
town,  Colchester,  went  down  into  the  well,  which 
was  some  forty  feet  deep,  about  three  o'clock  this 
morning.  He  had  scarce  been  an  hour  in  the  well 
when  he  heard  a  crack.  He  immediately  looked  up, 
and  observed  the  corb — a  piece  of  wood  in  a  circular 
form,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  bricks — had 
given  way.  Instantly  he  endeavored  to  run  up  the 
rope,  hoping  by  this  means  to  prevent  some,  if  he 
could  not  prevent  the  whole,  of  the  destructive 


58  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

materials  from  falling  upon  him.  But  the  windlass  not 
being  fast,  he  was  prevented  escaping  by  this  method ; 
and  was  immediately  covered  with  a  vast  quantity  of 
1500  bricks,  beside  the  earth  which  fell  in  with  them. 
The  earth  and  sand  enclosed  him  as  high  as  the 
middle  of  his  thighs.  The  bricks,  mingled  with  the 
earth,  enclosed  him  upwards,  and  pressed  with  such 
violence  against  his  breast  and  back,  as  scarcely  to 
suffer  him  to  breathe.  He  says  he  could  not  breathe 
at  all  for  some  time. 

Around  his  head  the  bricks  were  so  laid  as  just  to 
give  him  room  to  move  his  head.  And  the  quantity 
of  earth  that  covered  him  above  was  fifteen  feet  deep. 
He  says  he  was  perfectly  sensible  the  whole  time ; 
and  that  he  first  turned  his  thoughts  to  his  wife  and 
child,  who  now  reside  in  the  county  of  Westmore- 
land. Expecting  never  to  see  them  on  earth  again, 
he  earnestly  commended  their  bodies  and  souls  to 
the  mercy  and  care  of  heaven.  Supposing  he  should 
soon  be  deprived  of  his  reason,  he  endeavored  to 
throw  himself  on  the  merits  of  Immanuel's  blood, 
trusting  therein  for  life  and  salvation. 

In  a  little  time  he  found  himself  able  to  breathe 
more  freely,  and  he  began  to  sing  that  reviving  hymn, 

"  My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys." 

This  he  was  enabled  to  sing  through  ;  and  the  words, 
he  says,  being  the  sentiments  and  experience  of  his 
mind,  when  he  came  to  that  verse, 

"Fearless  of  hell  and  ghastly  death, 

I'd  break  through  every  foe ; 
The  wings  of  love,  and  arms  of  faith, 
Would  bear  me  conqueror  through  1 " 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  59 

his  soul  was  unspeakably  happy,  and  his  prospect  of 
eternity  peculiarly  delightful. 

His  colonel  and  captain  hearing  of  the  accident, 
hastened  to  the  place,  and  to  the  credit  of  humanity, 
appeared  to  be  both  deeply  affected,  and,  as  I  am 
informed,  they  both  wept.  They  determined  he 
should  be  got  out,  if  possible,  dead  or  alive.  Imme- 
diately fifteen  men  were  employed  to  remove  the 
materials  beneath  which  he  lay.  The  picket  guard 
was  sent  for  to  keep  off  the  crowd,  while  the  colonel 
and  captain  stood  by,  ready  to  give  every  possible 
assistance. 

About  ten  o'clock  they  heard  him  shout,  and  by 
eleven,  the  colonel  and  one  of  the  men  caught  hold  of 
his  hand,  and  brought  him  out ;  not  having  received 
any  other  injury  than  that  of  being  a  little  crushed 
with  the  pressure  of  the  heavy  materials.  He  had 
been  confined  to  the  dark  cell  seven  hours.  He 
informs  me  that  he  reflected  with  pleasure  on  the 
omnipresence  and  omniscience  of  that  God  who 
heard  the  cry  of  Jonah  from  the  belly  of  the  fish — 
Jonah  ii.  2.  This  night  he  was  at  our  chapel  to 
request  the  congregation  to  unite  with  him  in  thanks- 
giving to  Almighty  God  for  his  gracious  deliverance. 

Now  what  must  we  say  to  these  things  ?  Must  we 
ascribe  such  deliverances  to  that  unmeaning  term 
"Chance,"  or  ascribe  them  to  the  guardian  care  of 
the  Infinite  goodness,  "Who  maketh  his  angels 
spirits;  and  his  ministers  a  flame  of  fire,"  giving 
them  charge  concerning  his  saints  to  keep  them  in  all 
their  ways  ?  Should  not  every  pious  heart  be  swift 


60  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

to  recognize  the  goodness  of  the  Lord,  and  the  effi- 
cience  of  his  kind  providence,  by  which  he  manifests 
himself  a  present  help  in  every  time  of  need,  and 
redeems  from  destruction  the  lives  of  those  who  trust 
in  him? 


A  BLESSED  PSALM. 

In  this  perplexed  and  vexing  world  the  guidance 
of  the  divine  counsel  is  our  comfort  and  our  joy. 
And  it  is  a  precious  thought,  when  trials  and  sorrows 
roll  in  upon  our  fainting  hearts,  that  the  Saviour, 
who  was  tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin,  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tempted  above 
that  we  are  able,  but  will  with  the  temptation  pro- 
vide a  way  of  escape,  that  we  may  be  able  to  bear  it. 

Little  does  a  godless  world  know  of  the  secret 
grief  that  wrings  so  many  a  quivering  heart ;  and 
less  does  it  know  of  the  wondrous  wisdom  of  divine 
providence  by  which  ' '  the  Lord  knoweth  how  to 
deliver  the  godly  out  of  temptation,"  and  assuage  the 
sorrows  that  threaten  to  destroy  their  souls.  But 
Jesus  knows  it  all — the  sorrow  and  the  joy,  the  trial 
and  the  consolation,  the  snare  that  Satan  weaves,  and 
the  power  that  breaks  its  meshes  and  sets  the  captive 
free.  And  he  who,  in  the  spirit  of  Christ's  love, 
sympathizes  with  the  disconsolate,  and  seeks  to  heal 
the  wounds  of  the  broken-hearted,  will  listen  to  many 
a  bitter  tale  of  hidden  sorrow  and  despair,  and  to 
many  a  glad  thanksgiving  for  delivering  grace  in 
times  of  special  need,  manifested  in  strange  and 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  61 

wonderful  ways,  and  proving  itself  sufficient  for 
every  hour  of  conflict  and  distress. 

And  in  such  trials  and  such  deliverances,  how  often 
the  words  of  divine  Inspiration, — brought  to  view, 
illuminated,  and  emphasized  by  the  Holy  Ghost, — 
are  made  the  instruments  of  the  discomfiture  of 
Satan,  and  the  rescue  of  those  whose  feet  had  well- 
nigh  slipped  upon  the  dark  and  dangerous  mountains 
of  sorrow  and  despair. 

The  experience  of  a  personal  and  valued  friend  of 
the  writer,  who,  having  been  preserved  through 
years  of  the  bitterest  grief  that  falls  to  the  lot  of 
mortals,  yet  lives  to  honor  God,  and  serve  and  bless 
his  church,  so  fitly  illustrates  the  goodness  of  our 
heavenly  Father,  that  we  lay  it  before  our  readers 
substantially  in  the  very  words  in  which  it  was 
related  to  us  : 

' '  At  one  time  during  my  years  of  suffering,  I  had 
prayed,  groaned,  and  begged  to  have  matters  differ- 
ent, till  I  thought — O  God,  forgive  me  for  having 
such  thoughts  ! — that  I  could  not  live  any  longer ; 
and  I  determined  to  go  down  to  the  wharf  and  step 
off  into  the  water,  and  let  no  one  know  anything 
about  it.  From  day  to  day  this  temptation  grew 
stronger  and  stronger,  until  it  seemed  to  be* the  best 
thing  that  I  could  do  to  escape  the  sorrows  which  the 
wickedness  of  others  had  brought  upon  me. 

"After  some  time,  one  Saturday  night,  having 
finished  my  work  in  the  mill  where  I  was  compelled 
to  labor,  I  thought,  '  Now  I  will  go  and  step  off  from 
the  wharf  and  end  the  whole.'  I  prepared  myself  to 


THE    GUIDING    HAND. 


perform  the  dreadful  purpose,  but  just  upon  starting 
I  bethought  me  of  an  aged  Christian  pair  whose 
friendship  and  affection  I  had  prized  for  several 
years,  and  whose  sympathy  had  been  deep  and  ready 
in  all  my  sorrows ;  and  I  thought  I  could  not  bear  to 
die  without  seeing  them,  and  I  felt  that  I  must  go 
and  take  one  more  look  at  their  dear  old  loving  faces 
before  I  resigned  myself  to  my  bitter  fate. 

"  Accordingly  I  entered  their  humble  cottage,  and 
the  good  sister  said,  '  Glad  to  see  you ;  we  have  been 
speaking  of  you; — sit  down.' 

"  'No,'  said  I,  for  I  feared  they  would  begin  to 
speak  to  me  ;  '  I  am  in  a  great  hurry,  but  I  thought  I 
would  stop  a  moment.' 

"  I  was  going  out  without  sitting  down,  but  they 
both  said,  '  You  must  stop  long  enough  to  hear  this 
chapter  read,'  and  the  old  man  began  to  read  from 
the  Bible  which  lay  open  before  him ;  and  as  I  was 
unwilling  to  be  rude,  out  of  respect  I  tarried  and  sat 
down.  Slowly  and  reverently  the  good  old  man 
read  from  the  thirty-seventh  psalm  the  precious 
words  : — 

Fret  not  thyself  because  of  evil  doers, 
Neither  be  thou  envious  against  the  workers  of  iniquity. 
For  they  shall  soon  be  cut  down  like  the  grass, 
And  wither  as  the  green  herb. 
Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do  good ; 

So  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed. 
Delight  thyself  also  in  the  Lord ; 
And  he  shall  give  thee  the  desires  of  thine  heart. 
Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord  ; 
Trust  also  in  him ;  and  he  shall  bring  it  to  pass. 
And  he  shall  bring  forth  thy  righteousness  as  the  light, 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  63 

And  thy  judgment  as  the  noonday. 

Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  him : 
Fret  not  thyself  because  of  him  who  prospereth  in  his  way, 
Because  of  the  man  who  bringeth  wicked  devices  to  pass. 
Cease  from  anger,  and  forsake  wrath : 
Fret  not  thyself  in  any  wise  to  do  evil. 
For  evil  doers  shall  be  cut  off : 

But  those  that  wait  upon  the  Lord,  they  shall  inherit  the  earth. 
For  yet  a  little  while — and  the  wicked  shall  not  be : 
Yea,  thou  shalt  diligently  consider  his  place ;  and  it  shall  not  be. 
But  the  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth ; 
And  shall  delight  themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace. 

The  wicked  plotteth  against  the  just, 
And  gnasheth  upon  him  with  his  teeth. 
The  Lord  shall  laugh  at  him : 
For  he  seeth  that  his  day  is  coming. 

The  wicked  have  drawn  out  the  sword,  and  have  bent  their  bow, 
To  cast  down  the  poor  and  needy, 
And  to  slay  such  as  be  of  upright  conversation. 
Their  sword  shall  enter  into  their  own  heart, 
And  their  bows  shall  be  broken. 

A  little  that  a  righteous  man  hath 
Is  better  than  the  riches  of  many  wicked. 
For  the  arms  of  the  wicked  shall  be  broken : 
But  the  Lord  upholdeth  the  righteous. 

The  Lord  knoweth  the  days  of  the  upright : 
And  their  inheritance  shall  be  forever. 
They  shall  not  be  ashamed  in  the  evil  time  : 
And  in  the  days  of  famine  they  shall  be  satisfied. 
But  the  wicked  shall  perish, 

And  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  shall  be  as  the  fat  of  lambs : 
They  shall  consume : — into  smoke  shall  they  consume  away. 
The  wicked  borroweth  and  payeth  not  again : 
But  the  righteous  showeth  mercy,  and  giveth. 
For  such  as  be  blest  of  him  shall  inherit  the  earth ; 
And  they  that  be  cursed  of  him  shall  be  cut  off. 

The  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by  the  Lord; 
And  he  delighteth  in  his  way. 


64  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

Though  he  fall,  he  shall  not  be  utterly  cast  down: 

For  the  Lord  upholdeth  him  with  his  hand. 

I  have  been  young,  and  now  am  old ; 

Yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous  forsaken, 

Nor  his  seed  begging  bread. 

He  is  ever  merciful,  and  lendeth ; 

And  his  seed  is  blessed. 

Depart  from  evil,  and  do  good ; 
And  dwell  for  evermore. 
For  the  Lord  loveth  judgment, 
And  f orsaketh  not  his  saints ; 
They  are  preserved  forever: 
But  the  seed  of  the  wicked  shall  be  cut  off. 
The  righteous  shall  inherit  the  land, 
And  dwell  therein  forever. 

The  mouth  of  the  righteous  speaketh  wisdom, 
And  his  tongue  talketh  of  judgment. 
The  law  of  his  God  is  in  his  heart ; 
None  of  his  steps  shall  slide. 
The  wicked  watcheth  the  righteous, 
And  seeketh  to  slay  him. 
The  Lord  will  not  leave  him  in  his  hand, 
Nor  condemn  him  when  he  is  judged. 
Wait  on  the  Lord,  and  keep  his  way, 
And  he  shall  exalt  thee  to  inherit  the  land : 
When  the  wicked  are  cut  off  thou  shalt  see  it. 

I  have  seen  the  wicked  in  great  power, 
And  spreading  himself  like  a  green  bay  tree. 
Yet  he  passed  away — and,  lo,  he  was  not ! 
Yea,  I  sought  him — but  he  could  not  be  found ! 
Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright : 
For  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace ! 
But  the  transgressors  shall  be  destroyed  together : 
The  end  of  the  wicked  shall  be  cut  off. 
But  the  salvation  of  the  righteous  is  of  the  Lord : 
He  is  their  strength  in  the  time  of  trouble. 
And  the  Lord  shall  help  them,  and  deliver  them: 
He  shall  deliver  them  from  the  wicked, 
And  save  them  because  they  trust  in  him. 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  65 

"  I  cannot  describe  the  emotions  of  that  hour,  as  I 
listened  to  the  calm,  tender,  comforting  voice  of  that 
godly  man,  and  to  those  more  precious  and  consoling 
words  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  spoke  to  me  that 
night.  In  the  whole  compass  of  the  sacred  volume 
there  was  not  another  passage  so  specially  appro- 
priate to  my  state  and  feelings  as  that.  And  it  came 
to  me  as  a  new  revelation,  something  which  I  did 
not  know  that  I  had  ever  seen  before.  And  when 
he  had  finished  the  psalm,  and  said,  '  Let  us  get 
down  and  thank  the  Lord,'  I  hesitated ; — could  1 
pray? — could  I  live  any  longer?  'Yes,  blessed 
Jesus,'  I  said,  '  I  will  suffer  on,'  and  falling  on  my 
knees  with  them  around  their  humble  altar,  I  felt 
my  heart  melt,  my  purpose  change,  and  the  dark 
temptation  to  take  my  life,  which  had  haunted  me  so 
long,  vanished  from  my  mind.  My  hurry  was  over  ; 
— =1  could  stay  as  well  as  not,  to  hear  the  words  of 
consolation  and  trust  that  distilled  from  their  lips 
upon  my  stricken  heart,  and  I  went  forth  strength- 
ened to  '  run  with  patience  the  race  that  was  set 
before  me,  looking  unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher 
of  our  faith.' 

' '  Years  have  passed  away  since  then  ;  God  has  been 
gracious  unto  me,  and  delivered  my  soul  from  death, 
mine  eyes  from  tears,  and  my  feet  from  falling. 
My  aged  Christian  friends  still  live,  and  pray,  and 
cheer  the  desolate  and  sad,  and  their  home  has  been 
an  ark  of  rest,  and  a  bethel  of  blessing  to  many  a 
tossed  and  troubled  child  of  tears.  But  they  have 
never  yet  learned  how  much  their  faithful  love  was 


66  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

blessed  to  one  poor  soul,  upon  that  sad  Saturday 
evening,  when  my  feet  had  well-nigh  slipped  in  the 
path  of  darkness,  sorrow  and  despair." 

Such  was  the  story,  the  scenes  and  circumstances 
of  which,  together  with  all  the  persons  concerned  in 
it,  are  well  known  to  the  writer,  who  has  placed  it 
upon  record  in  the  hope  that  it  may  comfort  some 
other  soul  in  the  extremity  of  grief,  and  also  encour- 
age the  children  of  God  to  ever  speak  a  word  of 
consolation  to  the  weak  and  weary  ones,  trusting  in 
God  to  give  the  increase  and  bless  the  efforts  made 
to  glorify  his  name. 


THE  PKISONEK  OF  GLATZ. 

Dr.  W.  F.  Besser,  pastor  of  Waldenburg,  in  Upper 
Silesia,  in  his  practical  commentaries,  relates  the  fol- 
lowing incident  which  occurred  not  far  from  the  place 
where  he  resides. 

In  a  cleft  of  a  mountain  range  in  Upper  Silesia, 
through  Avhich  the  wild  and  raging  Neisse  forces  its 

o  o      o 

passage  down  to  the  Oder,  stands  the  impregnable 
Prussian  fortress  of  Glatz,  a  natural  fastness,  almost 
unequalled  in  the  world,  begirt  by  mountain-peaks 
like  walls,  and  fortified  yet  more  by  human  skill. 
The  valley  itself  is  shut  out  from  the  rest  of  the 
world  ;  and  one  who  is  enclosed  by  the  massive  walls 
and  gratings  of  the  castle  is  an  exile  from  the  world, 
as  if  buried  alive.  Woe  to  the  man  imprisoned  in 
Glatz!  Everything  calls  out  to  him,  "No  hope 
remains  for  thee  !  no  hope  !" 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  67 

Here,  in  the  second  decade  of  this  century,  lay  the 

Count  of  M ,  hitherto  petted  and  thronged,  now 

hopelessly  immured  behind  bolts  and  bars.  By  trea- 
son against  the  realm,  and  especially  by  personal 
violence  offered  to  Frederic  William  III.  of  Prussia, 
he  had  drawn  down  the  rage  of  that  monarch  on  his 
head,  and  was  condemned  to  solitary  imprisonment 
for  life.  For  a  whole  year  he  lay  in  his  frightful, 
lonely  cell,  without  one  star  of  hope  in  either  his  outer 
or  inner  sky,  for  he  was  a  skeptic.  They  had  left  him 
only  one  book,  a  Bible ;  and  this  for  a  long  time  he 
would  not  read,  or  if  forced  to  take  it  up  to  kill  time 
and  relieve  his  consuming  weariness,  it  was  only  read 
with  anger  and  gnashing  of  teeth  against  the  God  it 
reveals. 

But  sore  affliction,  that  dreadful  and  yet  blessed 
agent  of  God,  that  has  brought  back  to  the  Good 
Shepherd  many  a  wandering  sheep,  was  effectual  with 

the  Count  of  M .  The  more  he  read  his  Bible,  the 

more  he  felt  the  pressure  of  the  gentle  hand  of  God 
on  his  forlorn  and  hopeless  heart. 

On  a  rough  and  stormy  November  night,  when  the 
mountain  gales  howled  round  the  fortress,  the  rain 
fell  in  torrents,  and  the  swollen  and  foaming  Neisse 
rushed  roaring  down  the  valley,  the  Count  lay  sleep- 
less on  his  cot.  The  tempest  in  his  breast  was  as 
fearful  as  that  without.  His  whole  past  life  rose 
before  him  ;  he  was  convicted  of  his  manifold  short- 
comings and  sins ;  he  felt  that  the  source  of  all  his 
misery  lay  in  his  forsaking  God.  For  the  first  time 
in  his  life  his  heart  was  soft,  and  his  eyes  wet  with 


68  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

tears  of  genuine  repentance.  He  rises  from  his  cot, 
opens  his  Bible,  and  his  eye  falls  on  Psalm  1.  15  : 
"Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble ;  I  will  deliver 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify  me."  This  word  of  God 
reaches  the  depths  of  his  soul ;  he  falls  on  his  knees 
for  the  first  time  since  he  was  a  child,  and  cries  to 
God  for  mercy,  and  that  gracious  and  compassionate 
God,  who  turns  not  away  from  the  first  movement 
of  faith  towards  him,  heard  the  cry  of  this  sufferer 
in  the  storm-beaten  dungeon  of  Glatz,  and  gave  him 
not  only  spiritual  but  temporal  deliverance. 

The  same  night,  in  his  ,castle  at  Berlin,  King  Fred- 
eric William  III.  lay  sleepless  in  bed.  Severe  bodily 
pains  tormented  him,  and  in  his  utter  exhaustion  he 
begged  of  God  to  grant  him  a  single  hour  of  refresh- 
ing sleep.  The  favor  was  granted ;  and  when  he 
woke  again  he  said  to  his  wife,  the  gracious  Louise, 
"God  has  looked  upon  me  very  graciously,  and  I 
may  well  be  thankful  to  him.  Who  in  my  kingdom 
has  wronged  me  most  ?  I  will  forgive  him." 

"The  Count  ofM ,"  replied  Louise,  "who  is 

imprisoned  in  Glatz." 

"You  are  right,"  said  the  sick  king;  "let  him  be 
pardoned." 

Day  had  not  dawned  over  Berlin  ere  a  courier  was 
despatched  to  Silesia,  bearing  to  the  prisoner  in  Glatz 
pardon  and  release.  The  prayer  of  penitential  faith 
had  been  heard,  and  deliverance  was  granted  by  the 
providence  of  God. 

And  the  God  of  our  fathers  still  lives  ;  he  hears  the 
cry  of  his  children,  and  many  times  he  answers  even 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  69 

before  we  rightly  call  upon  him.  Now,  as  in  ages 
past,  the  Lord  looks  down  from  heaven  to  behold 
the  sighing  of  the  prisoner,  and  to  loose  his  bonds ; 
and  still,  as  of  old,  the  king's  heart  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  Lord,  and  he  turneth  it  as  the  conduits  of  water 
are  turned.  Let  us  make  him  our  refuge,  and  con- 
fide in  his  power  with  an  abiding  and  unshaken  trust. 


THE  BILL  AND  THE  BUTTEKFLY. 

A  poor  Christian  woman  in  Buckinghamshire — I 
belie  ve  Berkhampstead — was  bereaved  of  her  husband 
after  a  long  illness,  and  left  unprovided  for,  the  only 
thing  of  value  being  a  large  chest  of  tools.  The  hus- 
band had  only  just  been  buried,  when  a  neighbor, 
bearing  no  good  character,  called  on  the  widow,  and 
presented  a  bill  for  work  done,  altogether  beyond  the 
widow's  power  to  pay.  The  work  had  been  done  in 
the  husband's  lifetime,  was  paid  for  by  him,  and  the 
bill  receipted,  of  which  the  widow  had  a  distinct 
recollection.  It  availed  not  for  her  to  assert  the  fact. 
The  payment  of  the  bill  was  pressed  again,  and  long- 
ing eyes  cast  at  the  chest  of  tools.  In  great  distress, 
the  widow  retired  up  stairs  to  pray,  for  all  effort  to 
find  the  receipted  bill  was  vain. 

While  engaged  in  prayer,  a  butterfly  flew  in  at  the 
open  window  down  stairs.  The  widow's  little  child 
chased  it  until  it  flew  behind  the  chest  of  tools.  Just 
then  the  mother  came  in,  and  the  child  begged  her  to 
remove  the  box  that  he  might  get  the  butterfly.  The 
neighbor  offered  at  once  to  do  so  ;  and  while  he  was 


70  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

removing  it  from  the  wall,  a  piece  of  paper  fell  down 
behind,  which  the  widow  taking  up,  found  to  be  the 
lost  bill  receipted  as  she  had  said.  She  was  overcome 
with  praise  and  gratitude  to  God,  who  had  answered 
her  prayer  by  metfus  of  the  butterfly,  and  caused  even 
her  enemy  himself  to  discover  the  missing  bill. 

A  PEOVIDENTIAL  VISIT. 

Two  ladies  in  Xew  York,  active  members  of  a 
temperance  society  in  that  city,  heard  of  a  poor  woman 
who  wTas  intemperate,  but  who  was,  notwithstanding, 
possessed  of  many  highly  estimable  traits  of  character. 
They  resolved  immediately  to  call  upon  her,  and,  if 
possible,  get  her  signature  to  the  temperance  pledge. 
They  set  out  in  the  afternoon  on  their  errand  of 
mercy.  With  considerable  difficulty  they  succeeded 
in  finding  the  dwelling  where  she  resided.  Many 
poor  families  dwelt  under  the  same  roof.  But  at 
length  they  entered  the  room  occupied  by  the  family, 
the  mother  of  which  they  sought.  A  woman,  in  mid- 
dle life,  was  seated  in  a  chair  in  the  centre  of  the 
floor,  with  two  trunks  before  her,  apparently  engaged 
in  arranging  the  clothes. 

The  ladies  introduced  themselves  to  the  woman, 
and  told  her  plainly,  but  kindly,  of  the  object  of  their 
visit.  For  a  moment  the  woman  appeared  perfectly 
amazed,  her  lips  trembled,  tears  stood  in  her  eyes, 
her  cheeks  turned  pale,  and  then,  clasping  her  hands 
with  fervor,  she  looked  upward  and  exclaimed,  "My 
God,  is  it  possible  ?" 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  71 

The  ladies  were  uncertain  what  might  be  the  cause 
of  the  manifestation  of  this  deep  emotion,  when  the 
woman  put  her  hand  into  her  bosom,  and,  drawing 
out  a  shilling,  showed  it  to  the  ladies,  saying,  "This 
money  I  had  placed  in  my  bosom,  intending  this 
afternoon  to  purchase  poison  with  it,  that  to-night  I 
might  put  an  end  to  my  wretched  existence.  And  I 
was  just  now  engaged  in  sorting  out  the  clothes  of 
my  poor  children  to  relieve  my  husband,  as  much  as 
possible,  from  embarrassment  after  my  death." 

Encouraged  by  the  interest  which  these  benevolent 
ladies  manifested  in  her  behalf,  this  poor  woman 
resolved  to  make  a  new  effort.  She  said  that  she  had 
endeavored  again  and  again  to  escape'from  the  thrall- 
dom  of  this  terrible  vice,  but  had  been  unable  to  do 
so.  But  cheered  and  strengthened  by  the  sympathy 
of  those  who  had  come  to  lend  her  a  helping  hand, 
she  signed  the  pledge.  Many  months  have  now 
passed  away,  and  she  is  a  temperate  woman,  and  her 
home  is  the  abode  of  frugality  and  peace. 

THE  WET  GKIST. 

"I  have  a  story  for  your  Guiding  Hand,"  said  a 
minister  one  day.  "Let  us  have  it,  then,"  was 
our  reply.  "I suppose,"  said  he,  "I  owe  my  life  to 
the  providence  of  God ;  and  I  will  write  out  the 
story  for  you."  He  did  so,  and  it  was  as  follows  : 

"My  father  was  a  man  of  prayer,  and  in  our  home 
the  family  altar  was  never  permitted  to  fall  down,  nor 
its  fire  expire  or  grow  dim.  Around  that  altar  our 


72  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

dependence  on  God  was  constantly  acknowledged, 
and  the  divine  blessing  continually  invoked.  Nor 
was  that  blessing  sought  in  vain,  but  mercies  new 
and  fresh  from  day  to  day  were  granted  in  answer  to 
a  father's  prayers. 

"One  bright  morning  in  the  spring  of  1850,  after 
commending  us  to  the  Divine  protection,  my  father 
put  two  bushels  of  rye  into  his  wagon  and  started  for 
the  grist-mill  at  Rockland,  R.  I.,  a  few  miles  distant 
from  our  home.  When  more  than  half  way  there  he 
had  to  cross  a  bridge  called  "The  Wharf,"  along  the 
sides  of  which  there  were  no  railings,  but  only  some 
logs  laid  upon  the  end  of  the  planks. 

"When  on  the  middle  of  this  bridge  the  horse 
stopped  and  began  to  back.  My  father  leaped  from 
the  wagon,  and  the  horse  continued  backing  till  the 
hind  wheels  went  over  the  logs  and  oif  the  edge  of 
the  bridge,  and  the  wagon-seat  and  grain-bag  tum- 
bled out  and  fell  into  the  stream.  At  this  moment 
the  horse  stopped,  the  forward  wheels  caught  on  the 
log,  and  the  hinder  part  of  the  wagon  hung  over  the 
edge  of  the  bridge,  being  held  by  the  horse  and  by 
the  forward  wheels. 

"Four  or  five  men  soon  came  to  the  rescue  ;  the 
wagon  was  lifted  back,  the  grist  fished  up  from  the 
water,  and  in  half  an  hour  my  father  was  on  his  way 
back  home  to  dry  his  grist  and  get  it  ready  for  grind- 
ing again. 

"There  was  mystery  about  this  whole  transaction. 
We  could  not  imagine  what  had  made  the  horse  back 
when  upon  the  bridge.  He  showed  no  signs  of  fright, 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  73 

and  had  never  acted  so  before.  My  father  was 
troubled.  He  had  earnestly  prayed  that  morning, 
that  the  angel  of  the  Lord  might  encamp  round 
about  us  that  day,  and  now  to  be  subjected  to  such  an 
accident  and  so  much  inconvenience,  was  something 
of  a  trial  to  his  faith,  though  it  did  not  shake  his  con- 
fidence in  God. 

4  'He  returned  home,  and  we  went  to  work  to  dry  our 
grain  and  prepare  it  for  grinding ;  but  when  we  spread 
out  the  rye  upon  a  cloth  in  the  sun  to  dry,  we  noticed, 
scattered  all  through  it,  fragments  of  a  fine,  glittering 
substance,  which  on  examination  proved  to  be  glass! 
Thousands  on  thousands  of  little  fragments  and 
splinters  of  broken  glass  were  mingled  with  those 
two  bushels  of  rye, — enough  to  have  caused  the 
death  of  all  our  family  and  a  hundred  others  if  the 
grain  had  been  ground  and  baked  and  eaten. 

"We  were  amazed  at  this  revelation  ;  and  with  what 
grateful  hearts  we  knelt  around  the  family  altar  and 
thanked  God  for  his  wonderful  providence  which  had 
so  strangely  preserved  otir  lives. 

"But  how  came  the  glass  thus  mingled  with  the 
grain?  It  was  all  explained  very  soon.  The  rye 
had  been  kept  in  an  open  barrel,  and  over  this  barrel 
our  neighbors  had  smoothed  axe-handles,  using  pieces 
of  glass  to  scrape  and  polish  them.  These  pieces  of 
glass  were  thus  broken  and  splintered,  and  the  frag- 
ments dropped  unnoticed  into  the  grain,  and  were 
measured  up  and  placed  in  the  bag  to  be  carried  to 
the  mill.  No  one  suspected  the  danger,  and  if  that 
grist  had  been  ground  no  human  power  could  have 


74  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

averted  the  calamity,  or  saved  our  family  from  the 
terrible  influence  of  a  poison  so  deadly  as  powdered 
glass.  God  in  his  providence  interposed  and  pre- 
served our  lives  ;  —  truly  it  is  but  right  that  they 
should  be  consecrated  to  his  service." 


THE  YOUNG  DELIVEEEK. 

The  late  Mr.  Timothy  Bradbury  happened  to  dine 
one  day  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Tooley,  a  lady  in  Lon- 
don, who  was  famous  in  her  day  for  the  love  she  bore 
to  Christ,  and  to  all  his  servants  and  people.  Her 
house  and  table  were  open  to  them  all,  she  being  like 
Lydia  in  that  respect.  Mr.  Timothy  Rogers,  who 
wrote  the  book  on  religious  melancholy,  and  was 
himself  many  years  under  that  distemper,  happened 
to  dine  there  the  same  day  with  Mr.  Bradbury  ;  and, 
after  dinner,  he  entertained  Mrs.  Tooley  and  him 
with  some  stories  concerning  his  father,  who  was  one 
of  the  ejected  ministers  in  the  year  1662.  Mr. 
Rogers  particularly  related  that  he  had  often  heard 
his  father,  with  a  good  deal  of  pleasure,  tell  himself 
and  others,  of  a  deliverance  which  he  had  from  being 
sent  to  prison,  after  his  mittimus  was  written  out  for 
that  purpose.  He  lived  near  the  house  of  one  Sir 
Richard  Craddock,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  who  was  a 
violent  persecutor  of  the  dissenters.  He  bore  a  par- 
ticular hatred  to  Mr.  Rogers,  and  wanted  above  all 
things  to  have  him  in  his  power.  A  fair  opportunity 
offered.  He  heard  that  Mr.  Rogers  was  to  preach  at 
a  place  some  miles  distant  ;  and  he  hired  two  men  to 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  75 

go  as  spies,  who  were  to  take  the  names  of  all  the 
hearers,  and  to  witness  against  Mr.  Rogers  and  them. 

The  thing  succeeded  to  his  wish ;  they  brought  the 
names  of  several  persons  ;  and  Sir  Richard  sent  and 
warned  them  and  Mr.  Rogers  to  appear  before  him. 
Accordingly,  they  all  came  with  trembling  hearts,  for 
they  knew  the  violence  of  the  man. 

While  they  were  in  his  great  hall,  expecting  to  be 
called  upon,  there  happened  to  come  into  it  a  little 
girl,  a  grandchild  of  Sir  Richard's,  six  or  seven  years 
of  age.  She  looked  at  Mr.  Rogers,  and  was  much 
taken  with  his  venerable  appearance ;  and  he,  being 
fond  of  children,  got  her  on  his  knee,  and  made  a 
great  deal  of  her.  At  last  Sir  Richard  sent  one  of  his 
servants  to  inform  the  company  that  one  of  the  wit- 
nesses was  fallen  sick ;  therefore  he  warned  them  to 
come  on  another  day,  which  he  named  to  them. 

Accordingly  they  came ;  and  the  crime  was  then 
proved.  He  ordered  their  mittimus  to  be  written  to 
send  them  to  gaol.  Mr.  Rogers,  before  he  came, 
expecting  to  see  the  little  girl  again,  had  brought  some 
sweetmeats  to  give  her — and  he  was  not  disappointed ; 
for  she  came  running  to  him,  and  was  fonder  of  him 
than  she  was  the  day  before.  She  was  a  particular 
favorite  of  her  grandfather's,  and  had  got  such  an 
ascendency  over  him  that  he  could  deny  her  nothing. 
She  was,  withal,  a  child  of  violent  spirit,  and  could 
bear  no  contradiction.  Once,  it  seems,  when  she  was 
contradicted  in  something,  she  ran  a  pen-knife  into 
her  arm,  which  nearly  cost  her  her  life.  After  this, 
Sir  Richard  would  not  suffer  her  to  be  contradicted 


<b  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

in  any  one  thing.  While  she  was  sitting  on  Mr. 
Rogers'  knee,  she  looked  wishfully  at  him,  and  he 
said, — 

* '  I  believe  your  grandfather  is  going  to  send  me 
and  my  friends  to  gaol." 

"  To  gaol,"  said  she  ;  "why,  what  have  you  done  ?" 

4 'Why,  I  did  nothing  but  preach  at  such  a  place, 
and  they  did  nothing  but  hear  me." 

"But,"  said  she,  "my  grandpapa  shall  not  send 
you  to  gaol." 

"Ay,  but  my  dear,"  said  he,  "I  believe  he  is  now 
making  out  our  mittimus." 

She  ran  immediately  to  the  chamber  where  her 
grandfather  was,  and  knocked  with  her  head  and  heels 
till  she  got  in,  and  said,— 

' '  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  my  good  old 
gentleman  here  in  the  hall  ?" 

"That  is  nothing  to  you,"  said  her  grandfather, 
"get  you  about  your  business." 

"But  I  will  not,"  said  she  ;  "he  tells  me  that  you 
are  going  to  send  him  and  his  friends  to  gaol ;  and  if 
you  send  them,  I  will  drown  myself  in  the  pond  as 
soon  as  they  are  gone ;  I  will  indeed." 

When  he  saw  the  child  was  peremptory,  it  shook 
and  overcame  him.  He  stepped  into  the  hall,  with 
the  mittimus  in  his  hand,  and  said,  "  I  had  here  made 
out  your  mittimus  to  send  you  all  to  gaol,  but  at  my 
grandchild's  request,  I  set  you  all  at  liberty." 

They  all  bowed,  and  thanked  his  Worship.  Mr. 
Rogers  stepped  up  to  the  child,  and  laid  his  hand 
upon  her  head,  and  lifting  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  said, 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  77 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear  child !  May  the  blessing  of 
that  God  whose  cause  you  now  plead,  though  as  yet 
you  know  him  not,  be  upon  you  in  life,  at  death,  and 
throughout  eternity  !"  And  then  he  and  his  friends 
went  away. 

Mrs.  Tooley  listened  with  uncommon  attention  to 
the  story;  and  looking  at  Mr.  Rogers,  said,  "And 
are  you  that  Mr.  Rogers'  son  ?" 

"Yes,  madam,"  answered  he,  "I  am." 

"Well, "said  she,  "as  long  as  I  have  been  ac- 
quainted with  you,  I  never  knew  that  before.  And 
now  I  will  tell  you  something  you  never  knew  before  : 
I  am  the  very  girl  your  dear  father  blessed.  It  made 
an  impression  upon  me  I  could  never  forget."  '  Upon 
this,  he  and  Mr.  Bradbury  were  desirous  to  know 
how  she,  who  had  been  brought  up  with  an  aversion 
to  serious  religion,  came  to  be  so  eminent  for  it. 

Mrs.  Tooley  complied  with  their  request,  and  very 
freely  told  them  her  story.  She  said  that  after  her 
grandfather's  death,  she  was  left  the  sole  heiress  of 
his  great  estate  ;  and  being  in  the  bloom  of  youth,  and 
having  none  to  control  her,  she  ran  after  all  the  fash- 
ionable diversions  of  the  times  in  which  she  lived, 
without  any  manner  of  restraint.  But  at  the  same 
time  she  confessed  that  at  the  end  of  them  all  she 
found  a  dissatisfaction,  both  with  herself  and  them, 
that  always  struck  a  damp  to  her  heart,  which  she 
did  not  know  how  to  get  rid  of  but  by  running  the 
same  fruitless  round  over  and  over  again. 

She  contracted  some  slight  illness ,  upon  which  she 
thought  she  would  go  to  Bath,  hearing  that  that  was 


78  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

a  place  of  .pleasure,  as  well  as  health.  When  she 
came  there,  she  was  led  by  Providence  to  consult  an 
apothecary,  who  happened  to  be  a  very  worthy, 
religious  man.  He  inquired  what  ailed  her. 

"  Why,  doctor,"  said  she,  "  I  do  not  ail  much  as 
to  my  body  ;  but  I  have  an  uneasy  mind  that  I  cannot 
get  rid  of." 

"  Truly,  Miss,"  said  he,  "  I  was  so  too,  till  I  met 
with  a  book  that  cured  me  of  it." 

"  Books  !  "  said  she,  "  I  get  all  the  books  I  can  lay 
my  hands  on ;  such  as  plays,  novels,  romances,  etc., 
but  after  I  have  read  them  my  uneasiness  is  the  same." 

"  That  may  be,"  said  he,  "but  the  book  I  now 
speak  of,  I  can  say  of  it  what  I  can  say  of  no  other  I 
ever  read ;  I  never  tire  in  reading  of  it,  but  can 
begin  to  read  it  again  as  if  I  had  never  read  it  before. 
And  I  always  see  something  new  in  it." 

"Pray,  doctor,"  said  she,  "what  book  is  that? 
Cannot  I  get  sight  of  it  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "if  you 
speak  me  fair,  I  can  help  you  to  it."  "  Pray  get  it 
me  then,  doctor,  and  I  will  give  you  anything  you 
please."  "Yes,"  said  he,  "  if  you  promise  one  thing, 
I'll  bring  it  you ;  and  that  is,  that  you  will  read  it 
over  carefully ;  and  if  you  should  not  see  much  in  it 
at  first,  that  you  will  give  it  a  second  reading." 

She  promised  faithfully  she  would ;  and  after 
raising  her  curiosity,  by  coming  twice  or  thrice  with- 
out bringing  it,  he  at  last  brought  it,  took  it  out  of 
his  pocket,  and  gave  it  her.  It  was  a  New  Testa- 
ment. When  she  looked  on  it  she  said,  "  Poh  (with 
a  flirt) !  I  could  get  that  at  any  time." 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  79 

"Why,  Miss,  so  you  might,"  replied  the  doctor; 
' '  but  remember  I  have  your  solemn  promise  that 
you  will  read  it  carefully." 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  though  I  never  read  it  before, 
I  will  give  it  a  reading." 

Accordingly  she  began  to  read  it ;  and  soon  saw 
something  in  it  which  deeply  concerned  her,  and 
which  caused  her  to  grow  ten  times  more  uneasy 
than  she  was  before.  So  she  got  away  back  to 
London,  to  see  what  the  diversions  there  would  do 
again.  But  all  was  in  vain. 

She  lodged  at  the  court  end  of  the  town,  and  had 
a  gentlewoman  with  her  by  way  of  a  companion. 
One  Saturday  evening  she  dreamed  that  she  was  in 
a  place  of  worship,  and  heard  a  sermon  which  she 
could  remember  nothing  of  when  she  awaked,  but 
the  text ;  but  the  dream  made  such  an  impression  on 
her  mind,  that  the  idea  she  had  of  the  place  and  the 
minister's  face,  was  as  strong  as  if  she  had  been 
acquainted  with  both  for  a  number  of  years.  She 
told  her  dream  to  her  companion  on  the  Lord's-day 
morning ;  and  after  breakfast  said  she  was  resolved 
to  go  in  quest  of  it,  if  she  should  go  from  one  end 
of  London  to  the  other. 

Accordingly  they  set  out,  and  went  to  this  and  the 
other  church  as  they  passed  along ;  but  none  of  them 
answered  what  she  saw  in  her  dream.  At  one  o'clock 
they  found  themselves  in  the  heart  of  the  city ;  they 
then  went  into  an  eating  house,  to  get  some  dinner, 
and  then  set  out  again  in  search  of  the  place. 
About  half-past  two  they  were  in  the  Poultry,  and 


80  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

seeing  a  great  many  people  going  down  the  Old 
Jewry,  Mrs.  Tooley  determined  to  see  where  they 
were  going.  She  mixed  herself  among  them,  and 
they  carried  her  to  the  Meeting-house  in  the  Old 
Jewry.  So  soon  as  she  had  entered  the  door,  and 
looked  about,  she  turned  to  her  companion,  and  said, 
4 *  This  is  the  very  place  I  saw  in  my  dream."  She 
had  not  stood  long,  till  Mr.  Shower,  minister  of  the 
place,  went  up  into  the  pulpit ;  as  soon  as  she  looked 
on  him  she  said,  "  This  is  the  very  man  I  saw  in  my 
dream  !  and  if  every  part  of  it  hold  true,  he  will  take 
for  his  text,  Psalm  cxvi.  7.  Return  unto  thy  rest, 
0  my  soul;  for  the  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully  with 
thee."  When  he  rose  to  pray,  she  was  all  attention, 
and  every  sentence  went  to  her  heart.  Having  fin- 
ished prayer,  he  took  that  very  passage  for  his  text ; 
and  there  God  met  with  her  in  a  saving  manner ; 
and  she  at  last  gained  what  she  so  long  sought  for  in 
vain  elsewhere,  rest  in  Christ  to  her  troubled  soul. 
The  foregoing  account  of  Mr.  Rogers  and  Mrs. 
Tooley  is  sufficiently  authenticated  by  the  gentleman 
from  whom  the  writer  of  the  letter  had  it,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Wood,  at  Norwich. 

SAVED  FROM  A  BOBBER  BY  BAIN, 

A  merchant  was  one  day  returning  from  market. 
He  was  on  horseback,  and  behind  him  was  a  valise 
filled  with  money.  The  rain  fell  with  violence,  and 
the  good  old  man  was  wet  to  his  skin.  At  this  he 
was  vexed,  and  murmured  because  God  had  given 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  81 

him  such  bad  weather  for  his  journey.  He  soon 
reached  the  border  of  a  thick  forest.  What  was  his 
terror  on  beholding  on  one  side  of  the  road  a  robber, 
with  leveled  gun,  aiming  at  him  and  attempting  to 
fire!  But,  the  powder  being  wet  by  the  rain,  the 
gun  did  not  go  off,  and  the  merchant,  giving  spurs 
to  his  horse,  fortunately  had  time  to  escape. 

As  soon  as  he  found  himself  safe,  he  said  to  him- 
self, "How  wrong  was  I,  not  to  endure  the  rain 
patiently,  as  sent  by  Providence  !  If  the  weather  had 
been  dry  and  fair,  I  should  not,  probably,  have  been 
alive  at  this  hour,  and  my  little  children  would  have 
expected  my  return  in  vain.  The  rain  which  caused 
me  to  murmur,  came  at  a  fortunate  moment,  to  save 
my  life  and  preserve  my  property."  And  thus  it  is 
with  a  multitude  of  our  afflictions ;  by  causing  us 
slight  and  short  sufferings,  they  preserve  us  from 
others  far  greater,  and  of  longer  duration. 

THE  MASTODON'S  BONES. 

Many  displays  of  God's  good  providence  are  never 
recorded,  because  of  the  inability  on  the  part  of  those 
concerned  to  place  them  in  form  for  publication.  The 
following  instance  may  be  worthy  of  perusal. 

Many  years  ago  there  resided  in  Crawford  county, 
Ohio,  an  estimable  gentleman,  who  was  the  owner  of 
a  large  flouring  mill,  in  the  purchase  of  which  he  had 
become  deeply  involved  in  debt.  What  made  his 
condition  still  worse  was,  the  proceeds  of  the  mill 
were  not  sufficient  to  liquidate  the  claim,  and  no 


82  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

other  visible  resource  was  open  to  him  for  its  liquid- 
ation. 

As  the  time  for  the  payment  of  the  mortgage 
approached,  no  way  appeared  to  be  opened  up,  and 
as  the  mortgage  and  interest  when  due  would  amount 
to  the  sum  of  seventeen  hundred  dollars,  it  seemed 
almost  utterly  impossible  that  it  could  be  paid. 

Still,  with  some  hope  in  the  providence  of  God, 
the  proprietor  labored  not  only  in  the  mill,  but  made 
some  additional  improvements  in  connection  there- 
with, and  while  employed  in  improving  the  "mill 
race"  he  discovered  the  complete  remains  of  a  Masto- 
don, which  being  put  in  proper  shape,  he  sold  to  a 
museum  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  and,  strange  to  relate, 
it  netted  him  just  seventeen  hundred  dollars.  His 
mortgage  was  paid  up  and  cancelled,  and  the  good 
providence  of  God  clearly  made  apparent,  so  much  so, 
that  the  irreligious  were  forced  to  acknowledge  it. 

THE  FIRST  LOAD  OF  WOOD. 

Long  before  our  coal  mines  were  discovered,  this 
load  of  wood  was  cut  and  burned.  Those  were  the 
days  when  our  grandfathers  in  their  snow-shoes  used 
to  walk  straight  over  the  tops  of  the  fences,  and  small 
houses  were  sometimes  quite  covered  up  by  the  heavy 
falls  of  snow  ;  those  were  the  days  of  which  our  grand- 
mothers used  to  tell  us,  as  we  gathered  around  the 
blazing  fire  in  the  long  winter  evenings.  The  story 
we  now  relate  is  one  of  those  then  told. 

At  this  period,  there  lived  in  one  of  our   cities  a 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  83 

lone  widow,  in  feeble  health,  poor  in  this  world's 
goods,  but  rich  in  faith.  It  was  a  very  cold  winter, 
and  Curing  its  progress  there  occurred  one  of  the 
severest  snow-storms  ever  known.  Day  after  day  the 
white  embankment  rose  higher  and  higher  around  the 
city,  filling  every  road  and  lane.  The  farmers  in  the 
surrounding  country,  who  had  supplied  the  city  with 
wood,  found  the  roads  quite  impassable.  Weeks 
passed,  and  fuel  became  very  scarce.  Even  the 
wealthy  citizens  began  to  be  in  want,  and  to  watch 
eagerly  for  the  first  arrival.  The  farmer  who  should 
bring  the  first  load  into  the  city  might  receive  almost 
any  price  he  chose  to  name. 

The  little  pile  in  the  widow's  back  yard  grew  smaller 
and  smaller,  until  none  remained.  No  wood  had  yet 
been  brought  in,  and  when  it  was  brought  she  well 
knew  she  should  not  be  able  to  pay  the  price  asked 
for  it.  Must  she  not  suffer,  perhaps  perish  with  cold, 
before  she  could  purchase  ?  She  had  no  resort  but 
prayer.  Not  only  the  cattle,  but  the  wood  upon  a 
thousand  hills,  belonged  to  God, — her  God,  who  had 
promised  to  be  the  widow's  stay  and  staff. 

To  the  eye  of  sense  there  seemed  no  prospect  of 
relief;  but  this  humble  Christian  lived  by  faith,  not 
by  sense.  She  was  not  disheartened.  It  was  her 
part  to  pray  ;  it  was  God's  part  to  find  a  way  to  answer 
her  prayers. 

At  last,  one  farmer,  more  enterprising  than  his 
neighbors,  ploughed  his  way  through,  and  entered 
the  city  with  the  first  load  of  wood.  But  the  load 
of  wood  was  not  sold.  On  it  went,  and  paused  not 


84  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

till  it  reached  the  widow's  door.  The  kind-hearted 
farmer  knew  that  she  must  be  distressed,  and  God 
put  it  into  his  heart  to  go  to  her  relief.  Thus.it  was 
that  the  first  load  of  wood  brought  to  the  city  found 
its  way  not  to  the  mansion  of  the  wealthy  citizen,  but 
to  the  poor  widow,  who  had  neither  silver  nor  gold, 
only  faith  in  God,  and  an  interest  in  his  covenant 
love  and  faithfulness. 


THE  OLD  FLINT-EOCK. 

My  grandfather,  in  early  life,  served  in  the  Con- 
tinental army,  and  afterwards  removed  from  Connec- 
ticut and  settled  in  the  wilds  of  Vermont. 

He  lived  at  this  time  with  my  father  on  the  farm 
where  he  had  cut  the  first  tree,  in  the  then  almost 
unbroken  forest.  Always  given  to  early  rising,  it 
was  his  habit  to  build  the  morning  fire — build  is  the 
proper  term ;  for  to  lay  in  order  the  huge  pile  of  logs 
and  lesser  wood,  in  the  wide-mouthed  chimneys  of 
the  olden  time,  was  a  bit  of  civil  architecture,  that 
Avould  require*  a  building-committee  nowadays. 

On  one  occasion,  the  fire  had  gone  out  on  the  hearth, 
and  as  friction-matches  were  in  the  future,  as  well  as 
percussion  locks  and  air-tight  stoves,  there  was  noth- 
ing better  to  be  done ,  than  to  go  to  the  nearest  house 
for  coals,  or  try  for  a  spark  from  the  flint-lock  of  an 
old  continental  musket,  that  always  hung  over  the 
chimney-piece.  Those  old  muskets  combined  great 
awkwardness  and  ingenuity ;  the  fiery  spark  upon 
which  the  whole  enginery  depended  lay  within  a  dull- 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  85 

looking,  smoke-colored  bit  of  flint  stone,  only  brought 
out,  as  if  in  retaliation,  by  a  foe  of  steel.  Taking 
down  the  gun,  he  blew  down  the  barrel,  to  make  sure 
that  it  was  not  loaded,  and  put  fresh  priming  into  the 
gun.  The  spark  descended,  flashed  the  powder  into 
blaze,  and  soon  a  bright  fire  went  roaring  and  crack- 
ling up  the  chimney,  boiling  the  family  tea-kettle  as 
if  nothing  unusual  had  happened.  And  the  family 
slept  on  equally  unconscious  that  a  miracle  had  been 
performed — that  an  angel  had  come  down,  as  it  were, 
at  the  morning  sacrifice,  and  stayed  the  forces  of 
nature,  for  their  preservation.  But  at  tea,  when  my 
grandfather  gave  charge  to  give  good  heed  to  the 
fire  the  story  all  came  out.  And  notwithstanding 
that  my  grandfather  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution, 
and  understood  all  the  ways  and  tricks  of  the  regula- 
tion arms ;  notwithstanding  the  gun  was  reliable , 
"true  to  what  was  best  within, "it  was  heavily  loaded 
still,  having  been  double-charged  the  day  previous 
for  a  marauding  hawk  that  had  wisely  kept  beyond 
range.  I  shall  never  forget  the  look  in  my  father's 
face ,  as  he  took  clown  the  gun  and  stepping  out  upon 
the  high  terrace  in  front  of  the  house,  with  one  spring 
of  the  lock,  without  any  fresh  priming,  discharged  it 
with  a  deafening  report,  the  contents  plowing  a  black, 
jagged  rent  in  the  green  turf  of  the  slope  below. 

My  grandfather  regarded  it  as  a  special  provi- 
dence, for  he  knew  how  that  death-laden  tube  had 
been  in  direct  range  of  my  parents'  sleeping  apart- 
ment and  at  an  exact  level  with  a  row  of  little  heads 
in  the  trundle-bed,  when  the  spark  went  down  that 


86  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

kindled  the  kitchen  flre,  the  remainder  being  re- 
strained. It  was  a  lesson  of  the  personality  and  love 
of  God  that  has  never  been  forgotten.  The  thought 
of  God  had  come  close  to  us  and  wrapped  us  about 
like  a  garment.  The  idea  of  a  general  providence, 
that  takes  in  nobody  in  particular,  is  no  less  absurd 
than  the  idea  of  a  general  shower  that  waters  and 
refreshes  the  field,  causing  it  to  bring  forth  by  hand- 
fuls,  no  single  rootlet  or  blade  being  reached  in  par- 
ticular. 

Blessed  are  they  who  abide  under  the  shadow  of 
the  Almighty — under  the  covert  of  his  wings.  "  How 
excellent  is  thy  loving-kindness ,  O  God !  therefore 
the  children  of  men  put  their  trust  under  the  shadow 
of  thy  wings." 

MONEY  FROM  A  MISER. 

"Fifty  years  ago,"  writes  an  aged  man  from  Ver- 
mont, "when  I  was  a  small  boy,  I  had  a  good  pious 
mother.  One  time  she  was  in  a  great  strait,  for  food 
or  fuel,  I  have  forgotten  which. 

"Though  without  earthly  resources,  she  yet  had 
great  faith  in  her  heavenly  Father,  and  looked  con- 
fidingly to  him.  I  did  not  share  her  confidence,  and 
thought  within  myself,  'I  wonder,  mother,  how  you 
can  think  the  Lord  will  send  you  any  money.' 

"But  He  did  send  it,  and  in  a  wonderful  manner. 
Soon  after,  an  old,  rich  miser  came  into  the  house, 
and  somehow  or  other,  dropped  his  old  purse,  nearly 
full  of  silver  money,  on  the  floor.  The  money 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  87 

scattered  well,  and  rolled  in  all  directions,  and  we 
picked  it  up  and  hunted  for  it  till  he  was  satisfied, 
and  said,  'I  guess  we've  got  it  all;  if  there  is  any 
more,  you  may  have  it.' 

11  When  he  was  gone,  it  seemed  as  if  it  was  right 
under  the  soles  of  his  feet,  we  found  just  the  sum  she 
wanted  !  I  believe  that  helped  my  faith  wonderfully, 
It  seems  as  if  I  had  thought  of  it,  since,  a  thousand 
times,  when  tempted  to  distrust  my  heavenly  Father's 


DELIVERANCE  OF  JAMES  MEIKLE. 

When  Mr.  Meikle  was  surge on's-mate  on  board 
the  Portland,  which  office  he  filled  with  credit  for 
several  years,  he  had  at  Leghorn  occasion  to  remark 
the  interposition  of  Providence,  in  a  very  singular 
manner  in  his  behalf.  Several  of  the  gentlemen 
belonging  to  the  ship  had  formed  a  party,  in  order 
to  visit  the  city  of  Pisa,  which  is  not  more  than 
twelve  miles  distant,  and  entertain  themselves  with 
the  sight  of  its  famous  hanging  tower,  and  the  other 
curiosities  of  the  place.  Mr.  Meikle,  starting  in  the 
morning  of  the  12th  of  April,  went  on  foot  by  him- 
self, and  enjoyed,  he  says,  by  the  way,  "pleasant 
meditations  on  the  love  of  Christ."  The  rest  fol- 
lowed on  horseback.  The  afternoon  was  far  ad- 
vanced before  they  had  sufficiently  gratified  their 
curiosity.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Meikle's  companions 
returned  ;  but  he,  being  fatigued,  and  observing  that 
the  wind  was  foul,  so  that  the  Portland,  which  was 


88  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

to  convoy,  could  not  sail,  ventured  to  remain  at 
Pisa.  Early  next  morning  he  set  out  for  Leghorn  ; 
but  the  wind  had  changed  during  the  night;  and 
before  he  had  reached  the  city  the  fleet  had  weighed, 
and  were  already  several  leagues  on  their  way. 

By  this  occurrence  he  was  thrown  into  inconceiv- 
able perplexity.  In  a  strange  place,  ignorant  of  the 
language,  with  no  clothes  except  what  were  on  his 
body,  with  little  money  in  his  pocket,  without  one 
personal  acquaintance,  and  even  but  few  Englishmen 
being  left  in  the  place  to  take  interest  in  the  distresses 
of  their  countryman  ;  afraid,  besides,  of  the  fate  of  his 
papers  and  other  property  on  board,  of  the  loss  of 
what  was  due  to  him  on  the  ship's  books,  and  of 
being  detained  long,  before  he  could  find  an  opportu- 
nity of  getting  home, — what  was  to  be  done  !  In 
his  distress  he  applied  to  the  English  consul ;  but 
every  expedient  suggested  by  him,  and  some  others 
whom  he  consulted,  misgave. 

After  thus  spending  the  remainder  of  Friday,  and 
the  whole  of  Saturday,  in  fruitless  contrivances  how 
to  extricate  himself  from  the  embarrassments  of  his 
situation,  the  Sabbath  came  ;  on  which  he  resolved, 
as  much  as  possible,  to  banish  care,  and  to  commit 
himself  to  God.  It  was  his  custom,  when  an  enemy 
appeared,  or  when  at  any  time  he  went  on  shore,  to 
put  his  Bible  in  his  pocket,  that,  in  any  event,  he 
might  not  be  deprived  of  the  consolation  which  the 
perusal  of  it  is  calculated  to  afford  ;  and  on  this  occa- 
sion he  remarks,  that  he  was  so  happy  as  to  have 
along  with  him  his  dear  companion,  the  Bible. 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  89 

Early  in  the  morning,  therefore,  he  retired  to  a 
forest,  which  lay  a  considerable  way  out  of  town,  on 
the  road  to  Pisa,  and  spent  the  day  in  devotional 
exercises.  He  sung  psalm  Ixiii,  "a  psalm  written 
in  a  wilderness;"  which,  says  he,  "gave  me  great 
comfort  in  my  wilderness."  He  read  psalm  cii, 
which  well  suits  the  afflicted  when  he  is  over- 
whelmed, and  poured  out  his  complaint  before  the 
Lord.  He  engaged  repeatedly  in  prayer,  and  in 
meditation  on  God  and  the  dispensations  of  his  prov- 
idence towards  his  people,  and  himself  in  particular. 

As  the  day  advanced,  the  wind  sprung  up,  and  it 
began  to  rain.  He  took  shelter  from  the  storm  in 
the  trunk  of  a  hollow  tree,  and  standing  within  it,  he 
wrote  a  few  verses  expressive  of  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  the  Supreme  Disposer  of  events  ;  but  the 
wind  still  blowing  high,  the  evening  growing  chill, 
and  he  becoming  faint,  for  he  had  tasted  nothing  all 
that  day  but  a  draught  of  water,  and  eaten  little  the 
day  before,  he  returned  to  the  city.  Calling  at  a 
house  to  which  he  was  invited,  he  had  not  sat  long 
before  information  was  brought  him  that  the  English 
fleet  had  been  driven  back  by  contrary  winds,  and 
were  arrived  in  the  roads.  Animated  by  this  delight- 
ful, but  unexpected  intelligence  of  an  event  which  so 
evidently  marked  the  care  of  Providence,  he  made  all 
possible  haste  toward  the  shore;  but  it  was  late,  it 
blew  hard,  and  it  was  morning  before  he  could  get 
on  board.  As  he  rowed  toward  the  ship  it  fell 
calmer,  the  wind  became  fair,  the  signal  for  sailing 
was  hoisted,  and  within  two  hours  after  he  entered 


90  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

the  Portland,  the  fleet  were  under  way  with  a  fail- 
wind  and  a  fresh  gale. 

The  wind  which  chilled  him,  and  the  rain  which 
drove  him  for  shejter  into  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  were 
the  instruments  of  his  deliverance.  "  This  interpo- 
sition of  Providence  for  me,"  he  says,  "  was  aston- 
ishing." It  appears  to  have  struck  even  the  careless 
sailors  with  surprise ;  for  they  hailed  him  as  he 
approached  the  vessel,  in  their  rough  and  irreligious 

manner,  "  Come  along,  you  praying  d 1 ;"  adding, 

that  the  winds  would  not  permit  them  to  leave  Leg- 
horn without  him. 


TREASURES  HID  IN  THE  SAND. 

In  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  pilgrim 
fathers,  having  left  their  native  land  and  removed  to 
America,  that  they  might  find  "freedom  to  worship 
God,"  had  settled  in  Plymouth,  they  suffered  great 
privations.  Among  other  hardships  they  endured, 
they  were  sometimes  in  such  straits  for  bread  that 
the  very  crumbs  of  their  former  tables  would  have 
been  a  dainty  to  them.  Necessity  drove  the  women 
and  children  to  the  sea-side  to  look  for  a  ship,  which 
they  expected  to  bring  them  provision,  but  no  ship 
for  many  weeks  appeared  ;  however  they  saw  in  the 
sand  vast  quantities  of  shell-fish,  since  called  clams, 
such  as  are  found  to  this  day  in  extensive  flats  that 
stretch  out  from  the  shore  into  Plymouth  harbor. 

Hunger  impelled  them  to  taste,  and  at  length  they 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  91 

fed  almost  wholly  on  them ;  and  to  their  own  aston- 
ishment, were  as  cheerful  and  healthy  as  they  had 
been  in  England  with  plenty  of  the  best  provisions. 
The  godly  Elder  Brewster,  after  they  had  all  dined  on 
clams  without  bread,  returned  God  thanks,  for  caus- 
ing them  to  ' '  suck  of  the  abundance  of  the  seas 
and  of  treasures  hid  in  the  sand,"  a  passage  in  Deuter- 
onomy (xxxiii.  19),  a  part  of  the  blessing  wherewith 
Moses  blessed  the  tribe  of  Zebulun  before  his  death, 
— a  passage  till  then  unobserved  by  the  company, 
but  which  ever  after  endeared  the  writings  of  Moses 
to  them. 

We  have  sometimes  dug  and  often  eaten  clams 
from  these  same  flats, — the  "clam  bank"  being  a 
bank  whence  the  poor  can  always  draw,  for  it  never 
breaks  even  in  the  hardest  time, — and  have  marked 
the  wisdom  of  Providence  which  sent  the  pilgrim 
fathers  to  that  precise  locality.  Starting  for  some 
place  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York ;  guided  in  another 
direction  by  a  pilot  who  is  supposed  to  have  been 
bribed  by  the  Dutch  to  land  them  elsewhere  ;  driven 
about  by  the  winds  and  currents  till  he  himself  had  lost 
his  course  ;  brought  in  safety  finally  to  that  land-locked 
harbor,  where  countless  tons  of  shell-fish  lay  buried  in 
the  sands,  while  the  brooks  and  springs  that  emptied 
there  swarmed  with  myriads  of  fish ;  these  wearied 
exiles  found  their  home  at  last  upon  a  bleak  and  bar- 
ren shore,  but  perhaps  upon  the  best  spot  that  could 
have  been  selected  anywhere  along  the  coast  as  a  place 
of  refuge  and  support  for  them  in  their  poverty  and 
trials  that  were  to  come. 


92  THE  GUIDING  SAND. 

CEOSSIM  THE  LAKE. 

I  went  to  prayer-meeting  one  Sabbath  night  rather 
reluctantly,  says  a  writer  in  the  Sunday  School  Sun. 
I  preferred,  it  must- be  confessed,  to  stay  at  home  and 
read.  The  night  was  so  dark  and  cold,  and  home  was 
so  warm  and  pleasant,  and  then  I  did  not  care,  I 
thought — but  I  fear  my  own  heart  was  cold — to  hear 
Mr.  A's  long  exhortations,  or  Mr.  B's  cold  prayers. 
What  is  the  use  of  going  ?  I  said  ;  why  not  stay  at 
home  just  for  to-night?  I  went,  however,  to  prayer- 
meeting,  and  I  was  glad  I  went ;  for  I  heard  much 
that  nii>'ht  which  benefited  and  interested  me.  The 

O 

subject  was  God's  Providence,  and  his  goodness  in 
answering  prayers.  After  considerable  talk  upon 
the  subject,  and  several  fervent  prayers,  Dr.  C.  illus- 
trated the  matter  by  the  following  appropriate  story  : 
"A  traveler  came  to  the  shore  of  a  northern  lake 
late  one  March  evening,  expecting  to  cross  on  the  ice 
and  then  go  on  to  his  distant  home.  Asking  for  a 
conveyance,  he  found  that  no  one  was  willing  to  carry 
him  over.  The  ice  was  unsafe.  His  business  was 
urgent,  and  he  was  willing  to  attempt  the  passage, 
but  not  for  a  thousand  dollars  would  any  driver  run 
the  risk.  At  last  a  fellow  traveler  was  persuaded 
by  him  to  attempt  the  perilous  journey  on  foot. 
Together  they  went  along  for  a  while  cheerily  and 
safely,  but  aware  that  the  ice  was  growing  thin  and 
porous,  so  that  in  some  places  they  could  easily  thrust 
their  canes  down  through  to  the  water.  Then  did 
the  traveler  realize  his  danger,  and  offer  constant, 
fervent  prayer  to  God  that  he  would  save  his  own  life 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  93 

and  that    of  the  impenitent  friend  he  had  urged  to 
accompany  him. 

4 '  Silently  they  picked  their  way  around  the  danger- 
ous places,  hardly  knowing  how  they  went,  but 
guided  on  in  some  mysterious  manner.  The  shore 
was  in  sight,  and  breathing  more  freely,  they  thought 
the  danger  passed.  Soon  they  saw  stretched  between 
them  and  the  land  a  belt  of  open  water  shining  in  the 
clear  moonlight.  They  were  too  weak  and  weary  to 
call  for  assistance  with  any  hope  of  an  answer,  and 
at  that  late  hour  it  seemed  unlikely  that  one  would 
see  them.  Again  a  silent  prayer  "was  offered,  and 
instantly  from  a  house  not  far  distant  a  person  came 
forth  with  a  plank  in  his  hand  which  he  placed  over 
the  water  and  called  out, 

* ' '  Come  over  quickly.'  They  went  and  were  saved. 
Then  the  Christian  asked  his  companion, 

"  'How  did  you  feel  when  on  the  ice?' 

"  'I  felt  that  I  was  going  to  perdition,'  he  replied, 
'and  resolved  if  my  life  was  spared  to  serve  God.' 

'  *  Reaching  his  home  the  pious  traveler  found  that 
his  wife,  not  knowing  his  danger,  or  that  he  was  on 
the  lake,  spent  the  whole  night  in  praying  for  his 
safe  return.  Is  not  this  a  wonderful  instance  of  God's 
overruling  Providence  and  his  willingness  to  answer 
prayer  ?" 

It  is  wonderful,  I  thought,  and  as  I  returned  to  my 
home,  the  night  seemed  no  longer  so  cold  or  dark,  for 
I  thought  of  the  starlight  beyond  the  clouds,  and  the 
good  Lord  who  ruleth  over  all,  who  sent  his  Spirit 
to  shine  into  my  heart. 


94  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

A  LIFE  SAVED  THEOUGH  A  TEACT. 

A  minister  from  Exeter  stated  that  not  far  from 
where  he  lived,  >nd  quite  in  the  country,  there 
were  two  young  ladies  residing,  and  both  were  pious. 
It  so  happened  that  a  poor  American  sailor,  having 
taken  up  the  employment  of  a  pedlar,  passed  that 
way,  called  at  the  house  of  these  young  ladies,  and 
taking  his  box  of  small  wares  from  his  shoulders, 
requested  one  of  them  to  purchase  some  tracts.  She 
replied,  that  there  was  a  certain  tract  which  she  was 
anxious  to  find,  and  that  she  would  look  over  his  par- 
cel, and  if  it  contained  the  one  referred  to,  she  would 
take  it.  She  did  so,  and  finding  the  tract  she  wanted, 
paid  the  man,  and  ordered  the  servants  to  provide 
him  some  refreshments,  and  went  in  haste  to  the  door 
to  receive  a  friend  who  had  come  from  a  distance  to 
visit  her. 

The  poor  man,  mean  time,  gathered  up  his  scattered 
wares,  proceeded  a  considerable  distance  on  his  way, 
and  having  reached  a  retired  spot,  sat  down  by  the 
side  of  the  road,  and  taking  his  jack-knife  from  his 
pocket,  began  to  appease  his  hunger  with  the  food  so 
kindly  provided  for  him.  It  so  happened  that  in  the 
course  of  the  day  a  most  horrible  murder  and  robbery 
had  been  committed  near  this  spot,  and  officers  had 
been  dispatched  to  seek  out  the  criminal  and  bring 
him  back  to  justice. 

A  party  of  them  approached  this  poor  sailor,  and 
finding  him  employed  with  a  jack-knife, — the  very 
instrument  with  which  the  murder  was  supposed  to 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  95 

have  been  perpetrated, — they  seized  him  at  once  and 
put  him  in  prison,  where  he  remained  three  months 
awaiting  his  trial.  During  the  whole  period  of  his 
confinement  he  was  employed  in  reading  the  Bible 
and  religious  books  to  his  fellow-prisoners,  and  was 
so  exemplary  in  his  whole  conduct  as  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  jailor,  who  kindly  interested  himself 
for  him,  listened  to  his  tale  of  woe,  and  believed  him 
innocent. 

When  the  trial  came  on,  the  case  was  of  such  an  inter- 
esting nature  that  it  drew  together  a  vast  concourse 
of  people ;  and  after  the  examination  had  passed,  and 
the  judge  had  called  for  the  verdict  of  guilty  or  not 
guilty,  a  voice  was  heard  to  issue  from  the  crowd, 
"Not  guilty  T 

Every  eye  was  directed  to  the  spot  whence  the 
sound  proceeded ;  and  immediately  a  young  lady 
advanced,  with  a  paper  in  her  hand,  and  appeared 
before  the  judge.  Her  feelings  at  once  overcame  her, 
and  she  fainted ;  but  recovering  herself,  and  being 
encouraged  to  proceed,  if  she  had  anything  to  say  in 
defence  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  she  stated  to  the 
judge  the  circumstances  of  having  the  tract  of  the 
poor  man,  presenting  it  at  the  same  time,  bearing  the 
date  of  the  day  and  hour  when  it  was  purchased. 
She  stated  further,  that  just  as  the  man  was  about 
leaving  her,  a  sister  whom  she  had  not  seen  for  many 
years  arrived  from  a  distance,  and  as  she  was  anxious, 
for  a  particular  reason,  to  remember  the  day  and  hour 
of  her  arrival,  she  made  a  memorandum  of  it  on  this 
tract,  which  she  had  happened  to  have  in  her  hand. 


96  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

While  she  was  making  this  statement  to  the  judge, 
the  poor  prisoner  bent  forward  with  earnestness  to 
discover  what  gentle  voice  was  pleading  in  his  behalf; 
for  he  had  thought  himself  friendless  and  alone  in  the 
world,  and  was  comforted  that  any  one  should  take  a 
part  in  his  sorrows,  even  though  it  should  not  avail  to 
the  saving  of  his  life.  But  it  did  avail ;  for  the  hour 
of  the  murder  having  been  ascertained,  and  being  the 
same  as  that  recorded  upon  the  tract,  it  was  evident 
the'  prisoner  must  have  been  in  a  different  place  at  the 
time  it  was  committed.  He  was  accordingly  dis- 
charged ;  and  in  a  moment  was  upon  his  knees,  pour- 
ing forth  the  grateful  feelings  of  his  heart  to  his  kind 
benefactress. 

And  this,  said  the  reverend  gentleman,  holding  up 
a  tract,  is  the  very  tract  which  saved  that  man's  life. 


WHO  RUM  THAT  BELL? 

That  there  is  a  sleepless  Providence  watching  over 
all  the  affairs  of  men,  and  often,  by  special  agencies, 
bringing  to  light,  as  in  the  flash  of  a  moment,  the 
crimes  which  they  commit,  finds  additional  confirma- 
tion in  an  event  which  occurred  in  Enfield,  Conn., 
in  1866,  and  which  merits  a  more  permanent  record 
than  a  mere  passing  thought.  A  young  man,  belong- 
ing to  one  of  our  most  respectable  families,  but  who, 
from  his  irregular  habits,  had  been  strongly  suspected 
of  being  guilty  of  criminal  offences,  and  had  been 
once  under  arrest  for  passing  counterfeit  currency, 
and  escaped  by  forfeiting  his  bonds,  on  Sunday  night, 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  97 

a  few  weeks  since,  broke  into  a  store  at  Hazardville, 
and  loaded  a  wagon,  which  he  had  previously  stolen 
and  drawn  to  the  door,  with  various  kinds  of  mer- 
chandise. He  then  entered  a  stable,  and  attempted 
to  lead  out  a  valuable  horse  owned  by  the  man  from 
whom  he  had  stolen  the  goods,  intending  to  harness 
it  to  the  wagon,  and  make  off  with  his  booty  in  the 
stillness  of  the  night,  when  he  thought  no  eye  could 
see  him  and  no  ear  hear  him.  Just  at  that  moment, 
however,  the  bell  from  the  village  church  tower 
sounded  out  an  alarm  loud  and  clear  upon  the  night 
air,  startling  the  inhabitants  from  their  slumbers, 
who,  supposing  it  to  be  a  fire  alarm,  rushed  into  the 
street,  and  caught  the  thief  with  his  plunder,  before 
he  had  time  to  escape  from  the  village. 

The  ringing  of  that  bell,  however,  was  a  mystery. 
But  upon  inquiry,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  sexton, 
in  ringing  the  bell  for  the  church  service  the  day  pre- 
vious had,  by  a  seeming  accident,  so  turned  it  up  and 
set  it,  that  he  could  not  pull  it  down  with  the  rope, 
and  not  having  a  key  to  the  belfry  door,  he  was 
obliged  to  let  the  bell  remain  in  that  position.  Just 
in  time  to  detect  that  youthful  criminal,  it  came  down 
without  human  help,  and  sounded  that  midnight 
alarm.  After  his  arrest,  goods  were  found  in  his 
possession,  which  Avere  taken  from  a  store  in  Thomp- 
sonville  a  short  time  previously ;  and  he  confessed 
that,  with  the  aid  of  an  accomplice,  he  had  broken  into 
it  and  stolen  several  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  mer- 
chandise. The  owner  of  these  goods  had  formerly 
employed  him  as  a  clerk  in  his  store.  Thus  the 


98  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

ringing  of  that  bell  without  human  hands,  brought 
several  criminal  offences  to  light,  and  arrested  the 
offender  in  his  dishonest  career. 

The  writer  has  since  conversed  with  the  young  man, 
and  has  reason  to  believe  that  the  ringing  of  that  bell 
was  blessed  to  his  temporal  and  eternal  well-being. 


THE  BULLET  IN  THE  BIBLE. 

Old  Dr.  John  Evans,  the  eminent  Welsh  preacher, 
in  his  "  Sermons  for  Young  Persons,"  published  in 
1725,  said:  "Shall  I  be  allowed  to  preface  this  dis- 
course with  relating  a  passage  concerning  an  acquaint- 
ance of  mine,  who  has  been  many  years  dead,  but 
which  I  remember  to  have  received,  when  young 
from  himself? 

When  he  was  an  apprentice,  the  civil  war  began  : 
his  inclination  led  him  into  the  army,  where  he  had  a 
captain's  commission.  It  was  fashionable  for  all  the 
men  of  the  army  to  carry  a  Bible  with  them:  this, 
therefore,  he  and  many  others  did,  who  yet  made 
little  use  of  it,  and  hardly  had  any  sense  of  religion. 

At  length  he  was  commanded  with  his  company  to 
storm  a  fort,  wherein  they  were  for  a  short  time  ex- 
posed to  the  thickest  of  the  enemy's  fire.  When 
over,  he  found  that  a  musket-ball  had  lodged  in  his 
Bible,  which  was  in  his  pocket  upon  such  a  part  of 
his  body  that  the  shot  must  necessarily  have  proved 
mortal,  had  it  not  been  for  this  seasonable  and  well- 
placed  piece  of  armor.  Upon  a  nearer  observation, 
he  found  that  the  ball  had  made  its  way  so  far  in  his 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  99 

Bible,  as  to  rest  directly  upon  that  part  of  the  first 
unbroken  leaf,  where  the  words  of  my  text  are  found. 
It  was  Eccles.  xi.  9  : — 'Rejoice,  0  young  man,  in 
thy  youth;  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of 
thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart;  and 
in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes;  but  know  thou,  that  for  all 
these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment.9 

As  the  surprising  deliverance,  you  may  apprehend, 
much  affected  him,  so  a  passage,  which  his  conscience 
told  him  was  very  apposite  to  his  case,  and  which 
Providence  in  so  remarkable  a  way  pointed  to  his 
observation,  made  the  deepest  and  best  impression  on 
his  mind;  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  from  that 
time  attended  to  religion  in  earnest,  and  continued  in 
the  practice  of  it  to  a  good  old  age,  frequently  making 
the  remark  with  pleasure ,  that  the  Bible  had  been  the 
salvation  of  both  his  body  and  his  soul." 


ELIZABETH  WALKER  AND  THE  JUDGE. 

The  varied  means  by  which  God  interposes  to 
rescue  his  people  from  persecution  and  hinder  their 
enemies  from  blood-guiltiness,  have  often  been  marked 
in  the  history  of  the  world ;  and  the  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  in  their  quiet  trustfulness  and 
passive  endurance  of  affliction  for  the  gospel's  sake, 
have  often  proved  the  Lord  to  be  a  helper  and  a  shield 
in  times  of  trouble  and  distress. 

The  following  account  of  an  experience  of  Eliza- 
beth A.  Walker,  was  communicated  by  her  to 
the  aged  Samuel  Grummere,  a  minister  among  the 


100  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

Friends,  and  his  record  of  it  was  published  in  the 
"Friend's  Beview"  for  October  23d,  1869,  as  an 
instance  of  the  over-ruling  direction  of  the  Most  High, 
even  when  human  reasoning  had  induced  a  child  of 
God  to  shrink  from  duty  and  neglect  the  teachings 
of  the  Lord. 

Elizabeth  was  once  journeying  Avith  some  Friends. 
"Coming  to  Lake  Ontario  to  cross,  in  order  to  per- 
form a  religious  visit  in  Upper  Canada,  when  about 
to  go  on  board  the  sloop,  the  captain  taking  one  of 
the  carriage  horses  by  the  reins  and  leading  him  in, 
the  other  horse  followed  on  board  of  his  own  accord, 
at  which  the  captain  seeming  to  marvel,  was  answered, 
the  horse  was  used  to  crossing  waters. 

After  having  performed  the  visit  in  prospect  in  that 
country,  and  being  about  to  return,  on  approaching 
Kingston,  Elizabeth  felt  an  intimation  of  duty  to  have 
a  meeting  with  the  people  there  ;  but  it  being  the  time 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  chief  judge  and  a 
number  of  the  great  men  of  that  country  being  in 
town,  she  gave  way  to  reasoning,  concluding  that  if 
once  on  board  and  set  off,  the  concern  might  pass 
away  from  her  mind. 

Accordingly  in  the  morning,  coming  to  the  water- 
side to  embark,  the  same  captain  with  whom  she  and 
her  companions  had  crossed  before,  being  about  to 
take  them  on  board,  found  one  of  the  horses  refused 
to  be  led.  After  using  considerable  endeavors  him- 
self and  with  the  assistance  of  other  men  to  force  the 
horse  on,  and  all  without  effect,  he  queried  if  it  were 
not  the  same  horse  which  had  been  so  remarkablv 


GUIDlftGk  *bj£l>.    '  Wl 


THE 

tractable  before.  It  proved  to  be  the  same,  and  in 
relating  the  circumstance,  Elizabeth  said  she  stood  in 
amazement  ;  she  saw  the  cause,  and  said,  to  use  her 
own  expression,  <I  saw  that  I  was  Jonah.' 

However,  they  hoisted  the  horse  on  board  by  means 
of  tackle,  and  proceeded  with  a  fair  prospect  a  little 
way,  when  a  friend  asking  the  captain  how  long  he 
thought  it  might  take  to  reach  the  other  side,  was 
answered,  probably  half  an  hour;  when  presently  a 
tremendous  storm  arose,  and  they  appeared  every 
moment  likely  to  be  swallowed  up  in  the  waves.  In 
this  awful  situation  they  remained  from  about  eight  to 
twelve  o'clock.  The  captain  said  he  had  attended 
that  ferry  about  thirty  years,  and  had  never  seen  the 
like  ;  and  that  there  must  be  some  cause  for  so  great 
a  tempest. 

Elizabeth's  companion  then  coming  to  her  where 
she  sat  overwhelmed  with  confusion,  told  her  she 
must  give  up  to  return,  their  lives  being  every  mo- 
ment in  jeopardy.  She  could  only  answer  that  she 
was  now  willing  to  do  anything.  He  then  went  to 
the  captain  and  proposed  his  returning,  but  was  an- 
swered it  was  equally  impossible  to  return  to  the  place 
from  whence  they  came  as  to  go  forward.  On  being 
queried  with  whether  there  was  no  other  point  he 
could  reach,  —  they  being  still  near  the  Canada  shore, 
—he  replied  that  he  might  possibly  reach  the  King's 
Navy  Yard,  but  that  no  American  vessel  was  per- 
mitted to  land  there. 

The  place  being  near,  and  the  sentinel  on  guard  in 
full  view,  Elizabeth  says  she  recollected  that  she  had 


J;G2  THE   &TJIDING   HAND. 

been  a  subject  of  the  King  of  England,  and  did  not 
know  that  she  had  done  anything  to  forfeit  her  rights  ; 
she  therefore  desired  the  captain  to  hail  the  sentinel 
with  his  trumpet  and  inform  him  that  one  of  his  Maj- 
esty's subjects  was  on  board,  and  being  in  distress, 
desired  permission  to  land ;  but  they  received  answer 
that  he  durst  not  allow  it,  as  it  would  be  at  the  peril 
of  his  life. 

He  was  then  queried  of  whether  there  was  any  su- 
perior officer  at  the  place,  and  he  answered  that  the 
admiral  was  there.  It  was  desired  that  he  might  be 
informed  that  one  of  the  King's  subjects  being  in  dis- 
tress and  danger,  did  not  ask  it  as  a  favor,  but  claimed 
as  a  right  to  receive  protection.  A  sloop  was  then 
sent  out  to  bring  them  ashore. 

Being  landed  with  their  baggage,  etc.,  they  had  an 
interview  with  the  admiral  and  some  other  great  men, 
among  whom  was  the  judge  before  mentioned.  She 
informed  them  of  her  desire  to  have  a  meeting,  to 
which  they  readily  assented,  and  concluded  for  it  to 
be  held  at  what  they  called  the  Church  ;  and  a  mes- 
senger was  sent  to  obtain  the  privilege,  who  returned 
with  the  answer  that  the  priest  was  gone  from  home, 
and  the  key  was  lost,  so  they  could  not  get  entrance 
to  the  edifice. 

The  judge  then  said  that  should  not  disappoint  their 
having  a  meeting.  There  being  a  large  ball-room  in 
the  place,  they  set  about  preparing  it  for  the  purpose, 
and  giving  notice  of  the  meeting.  At  three  o'clock, 
about  two  hours  from  their  landing,  a  large  number 
being  assembled,  a  satisfactory  meeting  was  held; 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  103 

after  which,  they  being  retired  to  quarters  for  the 
night,  the  judge  sent  his  footman  to  inquire  whether 
he  might  be  permitted  to  pay  them  a  visit,  and  was 
answered  that  if  he  desired  to  do  so  there  would  be 
no  objection. 

He  came,  and  in  conversation  informed  them  that 
he  being  an  Englishman,  and  brought  up  in  what  is 
termed  high  life,  had  also  been  in  several  considerable 
stations  under  government,  and  that  with  respect  to 
religion,  he  had  been  an  Episcopalian,  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic, and  a  Presbyterian,  but  now  he  believed  that  he 
had  all  yet  to  learn ;  and  herewith  seemed  inclined  to 
drop  the  subject  as  respecting  himself;  but  Elizabeth 
thought — though  he  endeavored  to  give  the  conver- 
sation a  different  turn — that  there  was  still  something 
throbbing  in  his  heart  that  had  not  yet  come  out. 

At  length  he  said  he  had  been  a  great  persecutor, 
and  being  a  colonel  in  the  military,  as  well  as  a  civil 
judge,  had  been  severe  with  Friends  on  account  of 
their  non-compliance  with  military  requisitions.  He 
said  he  had  done  it  in  the  integrity  of  his  heart,  sup- 
posing their  refusal  to  proceed  from  obstinacy ;  but 
now  was  satisfied  they  acted  from  principle,  and  he 
was  therefore  determined  to  persecute  them  no  more  ; 
and  as  respected  what  was  past,  all  the  restitution  he 
saw  in  his  power  to  make,  and  which  it  was  his  deter- 
mination to  fulfill,  was,  that  when  any  Friend  came 
that  way  with  certificates,  and  desired  to  have  meet- 
ings among  them,  it  should  be  his  part  to  make  way 
for  them. 

The  next   morning  they  came  again  to  the  water  to 


104  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

cross,  and  the  men  who  had  the  preceding  day  assisted 
in  getting  the  horse  on  board,  again  offered  their  as- 
sistance. 'No,'  said  the  captain,  'the  work  is  now 
done,  I  can  take,  him  myself;'  and  taking  hold  of  the 
bridle,  led  him  gently  in. 

Some  time  after,  the  troubles  between  the  two  coun- 
tries taking  place,  Elizabeth  was  desirous  to  know 
whether  this  great  man  had  kept  the  promise  he  had 
so  solemnly  made  not  to  persecute  the  Friends  for 
their  religious  testimony,  and  was  informed  that  with- 
in his  jurisdiction  only  one  member  hud  suffered  on 
that  account,  and  that  he  had  not  in  time  informed 
them  that  he  was  a  member,  neither  did  his  conduct 
bespeak  him  to  be  one." 

The  reader  will  observe  how  the  Lord,  by  the  "stormy 
wind  fulfilling  his  word,"  brought  Elizabeth  Walker 
not  only  to  bear  her  testimony  to  the  people,  but  also 
to  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  chief  judge,  who  had 
been  in  his  ignorance,  a  persecutor  of  her  brethren, 
and  thus  made  her  an  instrument  of  the  deliverance  of 
mi  innocent  people  from  the  afflictions  and  trials  which 
they  might  otherwise  have  been  called  to  endure 
through  their  steadfast  adherance  to  duty,  and  the 
ignorance  and  prejudice  of  their  foes. 

THE  LOCK  OF  HAIE. 

"Do  you  see  this  lock  of  hair  ?"  said  an  old  man  to  me. 
"Yes  ;  but  what  is  it?   It  is,  I  suppose,  a  curl  from 
the  head  of  a  dear  child  long  since  dead." 

"It  is  not.     It  is  a  lock  of  my  own  hair ;  and  it  is 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  105 

now  nearly   seventy  years  since  it  was  cut  from  this 
head." 

"But  why  do  you  prize  a  lock  of  your  own  hair  so 
much?" 

"It  has  a  story  belonging  to  it,  a  strange  one.  I 
keep  it  thus  with  care  because  it  speaks  to  me  more  of 
God,  and  of  his  special  care,  than  anything  else  I 
possess.  I  was  a  little  child  of  four  years  old,  with 
long  curly  locks,  which,  in  sun,  or  rain,  or  wind, 
hung  down  my  cheeks  uncovered.  One  day  my 
father  went  into  the  woods  to  cut  up  a  log,  and  I 
went  with  him.  I  was  standing  a  little  way  behind 
him,  or  rather  at  his  side,  watching  with  interest  the 
strokes  of  the  heavy  axe,  as  it  Avent  up,  and  came 
down  upon  the  wood,  sending  off  splinters  with  every 
stroke,  in  all  directions.  Some  of  the  splinters  fell 
at  my  feet,  and  I  eagerly  stooped  to  pick  them  up. 
In  doing  so  I  stumbled  forward,  and  in  a  moment  my 
curly  head  lay  upon  the  log.  I  had  fallen  just  at  the 
moment  when  the  axe  was  coming  down  with  all  its 
force.  It  was  too  late  to  stop  the  blow.  Down  came 
the  axe.  I  screamed,  and  my  father  fell  to  the  ground 
in  terror.  He  could  not  stay  the  stroke,  and  in  the 
blindness  which  the  sudden  horror  caused,  he  thought 
he  had  killed  his  boy.  We  soon  recovered — I  from  my 
fright,  and  he  from  his  terror.  He  caught  me  in  his 
arms,  and  looked  at  me  from  head  to  foot  to  find  out 
the  deadly  wound  which  he  was  sure  he  had  inflicted. 
Not  a  drop  of  blood  nor  a  scar  was  to  be  seen.  He 
knelt  upon  the  grass  and  gave  thanks  to  a  gracious 
God.  Having  done  so,  he  took  up  his  axe,  and  found 


106  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

a,  few  hairs  upon  its  edge.  He  turned  to  the  log  he 
had  been  splitting,  and  there  was  a  single  curl  of  his 
boy's  hair,  sharply  cut  through  and  laid  upon  the 
wood.  How  gr^at  the  escape  !  It  was  as  if  an  angel 
had  turned  aside  the  edge  at  the  moment  it  was 
descending  upon  my  head. 

"That  lock  he  kept  all  his  days  as  a  memorial  of 
God's  care  and  love.  That  lock  he  left  me  on  his 
death-bed.  I  keep  it  with  care.  It  tells  me  of  my 
father's  God  and  mine .  It  rebukes  unbelief  and  alarm . 
It  bids  me  trust  him  forever.  I  have  had  many  tokens 
of  fatherly  love  in  my  three-score  years  and  ten,  but 
somehow  this  speaks  most  to  my  heart.  It  is  the 
oldest  and  perhaps  the  most  striking.  It  used  to 
speak  to  my  father's  heart ;  it  now  speaks  to  mine." 

PKESERVED  BY  A  KAVEN. 

In  the  year  1766,  the  especial  interposition  of 
Divine  Providence  was  manifested  in  a  most  extra- 
ordinary manner  to  a  poor  laborer  at  Sunder  land, 
This  man  being  employed  in  hedging  near  to  an  old 
stone  quarry,  went  to  eat  his  dinner  in  a  deep  exca- 
vation in  order  to  be  sheltered  from  the  weather, 
which  was  stormy  ;  as  he  went  along,  he  pulled  off  his 
hedging  gloves,  and  threw  them  down  at  some 
distance  from  each  other.  While  at  his  repast,  he 
observed  a  raven  pick  up  one  of  them,  with  which  lie 
flew  away,  and  very  soon  afterwards  returned  and 
carried  off  the  other.  The  man  being  greatly  sur- 
prised, rose  to  see  if  he  could  trace  where  the  bird 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  107 

had  gone  with  his  gloves.  He  scarcely  had  cleared 
the  quarry,  before  he  saw  large  fragments  fall  down 
into  the  very  place  where  he  had  been  seated ;  and 
where,  if  he  had  continued  a  minute  longer,  he  must 
inevitably  have  been  crushed  to  pieces. 


THE  RESCUE. 

Several  years  ago  a  ship  was  burned  near  the 
mouth  of  the  English  channel.  Among  the  passen- 
gers were  a  father,  mother,  and  their  little  child,  a 
daughter  not  many  months  old.  When  the  discovery 
was  made  that  the  ship  was  on  fire,  and  the  alarm  was 
given,  there  was  great  confusion,  and  this  family 
became  separated.  The  father  was  rescued  and  taken 
to  Liverpool,  but  the  mother  and  her  infant  were 
crowded  overboard  and  were  not  noticed  by  those 
who  were  doing  all  in  their  power  to  save  the  suffer- 
ers still  on  the  ship.  They  consequently  drifted  out 
of  the  channel  with  the  tide,  the  mother  clinging  to 
some  floating  portion  of  the  wreck,  with  her  little 
one  clasped  to  her  breast. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  a  vessel,  bound 
from  Newport,  Wales,  to  America,  was  moving 
slowly  along  in  her  course.  There  was  only  a  light 
breeze,  and  the  captain  was  impatiently  walking  the 
deck,  when  his  attention  was  called  to  an  object 
some  distance  off,  which  looked  like  a  person  in  the 
water. 

The  officers  and  crew  watched  it  for  a  time,  and, 
as  no  vessel  was  near  from  which  any  one  could  have 


108  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

fallen  overboard,  they  thought  it  impossible  that  this 
could  be  a  human  being.  But  as  their  vessel  was 
scarcely  moving,  it  was  thought  best  to  get  out  a 
boat  and  row  to  the  object.  The  boat  .was  accord- 
ingly lowered  and  manned.  It  was  watched  with 
considerable,  interest  by  those  who  remained  on 
board,  and  they  noticed  that  as  it  drew  near  to  the 
drifting  speck  the  rowers  rested  on  their  oars  a 
moment  or  two,  and  then  moving  forward,  took  in 
the  person  or  thing,  they  knew  not  which,  and 
returned  to  the  ship. 

When  the  boat's  crew  came  on  board  they  brought 
with  them  this  mother  and  her  child,  alive,  and  well ; 
and  the  sailor's  said  that,  as  they  drew  near,  they 
heard  a  female  voice  sweetly  singing.  As  with  a 
common  impulse  the  men  ceased  rowing  and  listened, 
and  the  words  of  this  beautiful  hymn,  sung  by  this 
trusting  Christian,  all  unconscious  that  deliverance 
was  so  near,  came  over  the  waves  to  their  ears  : 

u  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  waters  near  me  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high ; 
Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past ; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 

Oh !  receive  my  soul  at  last. 

"Other  refuge  have  I  none, 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee ; 
Leave,  oh !  leave  me  not  alone ; 

Still  support  and  comfort  me. 
All  my  trust  on  Thee  is  stayed. 

All  my  help  from  Thee  I  bring ; 
Cover  my  defenceless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  thy  wing." 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  109 

In  due  time  the  vessel  arrived  in  America.  The 
mother  wrote  to  her  friends  in  England,  and  thus 
the  father  learned  of  the  safety  of  his  wife  and  child, 
and  in  about  four  months  from  the  time  of  their 
separation  they  were  happily  reunited. 

Who  would  not  have  such  a  trust  as  this,  in  time 
of  trouble  and  distress  ?  Even  if  it  were  but  a  delu- 
sion and  a  snare,  yet  how  much  better  a  faith  which 
can  break  forth  at  such  a  time  in  holy  and  confiding 
song,  than  the  bitter  blasphemies  and  despairing  cries 
which  mark  the  hopeless  peril  of  those  that  know  not 
God. 

But  this  abiding  trust  in  God  is  no  delusion.  The 
Lord  is  nigh  to  them  that  call  upon  him.  The  eyes 
of  the  Lord  are  over  the  righteous,  and  his  ears  are 
open  to  their  prayers ;  and  his  Guiding  Hand,  which 
stilled  the  wind  and  waters  on  that  memorable  after- 
noon, which  turned  the  glance  of  the  men  on  board 
this  ship  to  that  solitary  speck  that  floated  on  the 
waters,  and  which  turned  that  captain's  heart  to  stop 
and  examine,  rather  than  to  pass  carelessly  on, — 
that  same  hand  guides  us  in  all  life's  devious  way, 
and  will  bring  us  safely  to  the  heavenly  home  at  last. 


PEAYING  AND  DUELING. 

It  is  sad  to  hear  of  Christians  becoming  soldiers, 
but  it  is  blessed  to  hear  of  soldiers  becoming  Chris- 
tians. And  from  the  time  of  Cornelius  the  centurion, 
down  to  the  present  day,  God  has  magnified  his 
grace  in  calling  and  in  keeping  those,  who,  even  in 


110  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

the  most  trying  scenes,  were  enabled  to  hold  fast 
their  integrity  and  remain  followers  of  the  Prince  of 
peace,  though  among  the  votaries  of  strife  and  blood. 

And  the  influence  of  such  men  has  been  great,  and 
their  testimonies  and  their  prayers  have  often  been 
used  of  the  Lord  to  effect  much  good  to  those  among 
whom  their  lot  was  cast,  while  compelled  to  endure 
the  trials  of  their  unwelcome  calling  and  position. 

It  is  related  that  a  pious  young  man  in  the  army, 
not  having  a  place  in  the  barracks '  in  which  he  was 
quartered,  wherein  he  could  pour  out  his  soul  unto 
God  in  secret,  went  for  this  purpose  one  dark  night 
into  a  large  field  adjoining.  Here  he  thought  that 
no  human  being  could  see  or  hear  him.  But  that 
God  whose  thoughts  and  ways  are  superior  to  ours, 
ordained  otherwise.  Two  wicked  men  belonging  to 
the  same  regiment,  in  whose  hearts  enmity  had  long 
existed  against  each  other,  were  resolved,  as  they 
said,  to  end  it  that  night  in  a  battle. 

But  God  had  his  eye  upon  these  sinful  men,  and 
his  hand,  unknown  to  them,  directed  all  their  steps. 
They  chose  the  same  field  to  fight  in,  where  the  other 
had  gone  to  pray.  The  field,  however,  was  large, 
and  they  might  have  taken  different  ways  ;  but  they 
were  led  by  Providence  to  the  same  spot  where  the 
young  man  was  engaged  in  earnest  supplication. 
They  were  surprised  at  hearing  the  sound  of  a  human 
voice  in  the  field  at  that  time  of  night ;  and  much 
more  so  when  they  drew  nearer,  and  heard  a  man  at 
prayer.  They  halted,  and  gave  attention ;  and  the 
effect  of  the  prayer  was  to  turn  their  mutual  aversion 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  Ill 

into  love.  They  took  each  other  instantly  by  the 
hand,  and  cordially  confessed  that  there  remained  no 
longer  in  either  of  their  breasts  hatred  against  each 
other. 

Of  course  this  praying  man  had  no  thought  of  the 
way  in  Avhich  the  Lord  was  using  him  to  save  life 
and  prevent  blood-guiltiness.  Nor  can  we  know 
what  purposes  of  mercy  God  may  serve  by  us.  It  is 
enough  that  we  walk  by  faith  and  prayer,  and  leave 
the  results  to  Him  who  doeth  all  things  well ;  who 
worketh  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will ;  whose  wisdom  is  unsearchable,  and  his 
ways  past  finding  out. 

THE  GOLD-DIGGING  EAT. 

"All  things  come  to  pass  according  to  certain 
fixed  and  unalterable  lawso" 

So  men  of  science  assert,  and  from  this  reason, 
argue  that  no  one  can  pray  intelligently  for  the 
occurrence  of  any  event,  or  other  than  those  which 
are  already  certain  according  to  the  course  of  nature, 
unless  he  believes  that  God  will  work  a  miracle  in 
order  to  give  him  an  answer.  To  this  the  Christian's 
faith  replies:  "Yes,  God  does  bring  all  things  to 
pass  according  to  his  own  fixed  laws ;  according  to 
the  counsel  of  his  own  will.  Yet  his  infinite  wisdom 
finds  room,  without  over-riding  these  laws,  so  to 
order  particular  events,  as  that  their  occurrence  at 
particular  times  is  in  gracious  answer  to  those  prayers 
which  he  has  bidden  and  invited  his  people  to  offer 


112  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

up  to  him,  in  the  name  of  Jesus   Christ,  for  things 
agreeable  to  his  holy  will." 

Among  the  thousands  of  incidents  which  daily 
confirm  the  faith  of  those  who  take  God  at  his  word, 
the  following  is  a  striking  one  :  During  the  war,  a 
gentleman  in  West  Tennessee  removed  the  steps 
from  his  back  porch,  buried  some  gold,  and  replaced 
the  steps.  It  escaped  the  hands  of  the  invaders.  The 
war  closed  in  1865.  The  gentleman  removed  the 
steps,  dug  up  his  gold,  and  believing  he  had  secured 
it  all,  replaced  the  steps  again. 

Nearly  seven  years  rolled  away,  and  in  1872,  an 
excellent  and  worthy  Presbyterian  minister  of  Tus- 
cumbia,  Alabama,  died  in  the  midst  of  his  years  and 
usefulness,  leaving  a  widow  and  six  little  penniless 
children.  The  synod  of  Memphis  resolved  to  ask 
her  churches  to  make  a  contribution  for  the  benefit  of 
this  family.  On  a  certain  Sabbath,  one  of  her  pastors 
stated  the  facts,  and  announced  that  his  church  would 
make  their  contribution  on  the  next  Lord's  day. 
Before  him  sat  one  of  his  members,  the  wife  of  the 
man  who  had  concealed  the  gold.  She  felt,  "Oh,I 
do  wish  I  could  make  or  procure  some  money  that  I 
might  help  that  dear  lady  and  her  fatherless  ones  ! " 
Then  she  resolved  before  the  Lord  that  she  would 
give  all  the  money  which  he  would  enable  her  to 
make  or  control  during  the  next  week,  to  that  cause. 
That  night  a  rat — "according  to  the  laws  of  his 
nature  " — determined  to  dig  a  hole  under  those  back 
steps,  and  did  so.  Next  morning,  as  the  lady, 
according  to  her  custom,  swept  the  back  porch  and 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  113 

steps,  she  saw  a  five-dollar  gold  piece  lying  in  the 
earth,  scratched  up  by  the  rat.  She  then  removed 
the  steps,  and  digging,  found  other  pieces,  until  she 
had  procured  twenty  dollars  in  gold  ;  and  this  went 
the  next  Sabbath  to  the  widow  and  orphans. 

She  and  many  others  have  no  doubt  that  this  was 
an  answer  to  the  prayer  and  resolve  made  in  her  pew 
on  the  previous  day,  and  yet  no  law  of  the  nature  of 
any  person  concerned,  not  even  of  the  rat,  was  set 
aside  or  over-ridden. 


GOBAT  AND  THE  HYENAS. 

"Mr.  Gobat,  afterward  Bishop  of  Jerusalem, 
when  engaged  as  a  missionary  to  Abyssinia,  retired 
on  one  occasion,  in  a  season  of  deep  spiritual  depres- 
sion and  gloom,  into  a  cavern,  and  there  poured  out 
his  heart  in  earnest  supplication,  beseeching  that  God 
would  not  desert  him,  but  encourage  him  in  his  trials, 
lie  remained  in  the  cavern  some  time.  When  he  rose 
from  his  knees,  his  eyes  had  become  accustomed  to 
the  darkness,  and  he  saw  that  he  had  been  there  with 
a  hyena  and  her  cubs,  which  yet  had  not  been  suf- 
fered to  attack  him.  At  the  very  time  when  he 
deemed  himself  forgotten,  he  received  this  striking 
manifestation  that  the  God  of  providence  was  nigh  to 
shield  and  protect  him. 

* '  On  one  occasion  this  animal  was  made  the  instru- 
ment of  his  deliverance  from  a  violent  death.  While 
laboring  among  the  wild  tribes  of  the  Druses,  a 
messenger  was  sent  from  one  of  their  chiefs,  whose 


114  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

influence  it  was  important  to  secure,  with  a  message 
entreating  Mr.  Gobat  to  visit  him.  The  latter, 
however,  was  unable  to  do  so  in  consequence  of 
indisposition.  ;  A  second  messenger  repeated  the 
invitation,  but  still,  contrary  to  Mr.  Gobat's  expec- 
tation, he  was  prevented  from  complying  with  the 
chiefs  wishes.  A  third  messenger  prevailed  on  him 
to  set  out,  by  the  assurance  that  if  he  went  at  once 
he  might  spend  the  night  with  the  chief,  and  be 
ready  to  return  in  the  morning,  so  as  to  join  a  ship 
about  to  sail  for  Malta,  in  which  Mr.  Gobat  was 
anxious  to  embark.  On  their  journey  the  guides 
lost  themselves  in  the  mountain  paths.  Having  at 
last,  with  some  difficulty,  regained  their  route,  they 
suddenly  saw  by  the  light  of  the  moon  that  a  hyena 
had  laid  itself  down  across  the  path  exactly  in  their 
way.  They  threw  stones  to  frighten  it,  when  the 
animal  sprang  up  and  ran  along  the  path  which  the 
party  were  to  travel.  A  superstition  is  prevalent 
among  the  Druses,  that  'the  way  a  hyena  goes  is  an 
unlucky  one.'  Accordingly  the  natives  refused  to 
go  further,  and  Mr.  Gobat  had  to  retrace  his  steps, 
greatly  perplexed  at  the  obstacles  which  had  hin- 
dered a  journey  apparently  of  so  much  consequence 
to  his  mission.  When  in  Malta  he  received  a  letter 
from  a  friend  in  Lebanon,  stating  that  he  had  been 
visited  by  the  chief,  who,  with  much  agitation,  had 
spoken  to  him  as  follows  :  'Your  friend  is  truly  a 
servant  of  God,  and  God  has  preserved  him;  for  I 
wished  to  draw  him  to  my  village  in  order  to  murder 
him.  Therefore  I  sent  message  after  message  to 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  115 

him  ;  but  God  has  delivered  him  from  the  hand  of  his 
enemies.1" 

"Behold,  he  that  keepeth  Israel  shall  neither 
slumber  nor  sleep.  The  Lord  is  thy  keeper,  the. 
Lord  is  thy  shade  upon  thy  right  hand."  "The 
angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about  them  that 
fear  him  and  delivereth  them." 


A  TIMELY  ALAEM. 

A  lady  in  S ,  New  Hampshire,  relates  the 

following  incident,  illustrating  the  watchfulness  of 
divine  providence  over  the  people  of  God  : 

"  Sometime  about  the  year  1868,  my  husband  was 
absent  from  home,  and  I  was  alone  in  the  house 
with  an  old  lady,  more  than  eighty  years  of  age,  and 
quite  lame  and  feeble.  The  evening  was  well  ad- 
vanced, the  old  lady  had  retired  for  the  night,  and  I 
was  preparing  to  go  to  my  bed,  when  I  heard  a 
remarkable  noise  caused  by  the  rats  running  up  and 
down  the  ceiling  as  I  never  heard  them  before  or 
since.  I  spoke  to  the  old  lady,  and  said,  'I  have  a 
good  mind  to  carry  the  cat  up  stairs.'  She  replied, 
< 1  would ;  for  I  never  heard  the  rats  make  such  a 
noise.'  I  took  the  cat,  and  when  I  opened  the  door 
into  the  front  entry,  I  perceived  the  smell  of  smoke. 
I  ran  up  stairs,  and  opened  the  door  into  one  of  the 
back  chambers  directly  over  our  bed,  and  there  a 
large  wooden  spit-box  standing  before  a  stove,  was 
on  fire ;  I  caught  it  up  to  put  it  in  the  stove,  and 


116  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

the  bottom  of  it  dropped  out,  and  the  floor  where  it 
stood  was  also  on  fire.  I  got  some  water,  and  soon 
put  out  the  fire,  and  went  down  and  said  to  the  old 
lady,  'Truly  God  sent  the  rats  there,  to  preserve  us 
from  certain  death ;  for  if  I  had  gone  to  bed,  we 
should  not  have  known  anything  about  the  fire,  until 
the  burning  floor  fell  on  us.* 

"We  both  felt  to  thank  God  for  his  protecting 
care.  But  it  was  a  great  mystery  to  us  to  know 
how  the  fire  came  up  there ;  for  no  one  had  been 
there,  to  my  knowledge,  during  the  day.  I  remem- 
bered, however,  that  a  woman  had  been  washing  for 
me  that  day  who  smoked ;  and  as  she  knew  tobacco 
was  very  offensive  to  me,  I  thought  she  must  have 
gone  up  into  the  chamber  to  smoke.  She  was  in 
the  house  the  next  day,  and  owned  that  she  did  so, 
but  was  not  aware  that  she  had  dropped  any  fire. 
As  it  was,  her  indulgence  in  the  vile  habit  might 
have  occasioned  the  loss,  not  only  of  our  property 
but  of  our  lives,  had  it  not  been  for  this  unusual 
noise  which  attracted  my  attention,  and  led  me  to 
discover  the  danger.  The  evil  habit  was  the  cause 
of  our  peril,  but  the  providence  of  God  provided  a 
way  for  our  escape. 

In  this  way  trifles  light  as  air  are  made  subserv- 
ient to  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  children  of 
the  Most  High.  Blessed  are  they  who  observe  his 
loving-kindness  and  give  thanks  for  all  his  love, 
rejoicing  that  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  over  the 
righteous,  and  that  Israel's  Keeper  neither  slumbers 
nor  sleeps. 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  117 

THE  TIMELY  EBB-TIDE. 

The  following  remarkable  account  of  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  inhabitants  of  Holland  from  the  terrors 
of  an  invading  force,  is  recorded  in  the  second  book 
of  Bishop  Burnet's  "History  of  His  Own  Time:" 

In  1672,  the  Dutch  were  saved  by  an  extraordinary 
event,  at  a  time  when  nothing  but  the  interposition 
of  Providence  could  have  preserved  them.  In  that 
memorable  year,  when  Louis  XIY.  came  down  upon 
that  country  like  a  flood,  he  proposed  that  at  the 
same  time  he  should  enter  the  province  of  Holland 
by  land,  his  fleet,  in  conjunction  with  that  of  Great 
Britain,  should  make  a  descent  on  the  side  of  the 
Hague,  by  sea.  When  the  united  fleets  came  up 
Avithin  sight  of  Scheveling,  the  tide,  though  very 
regular  at  other  times,  just  when  they  were  prepar- 
ing to  land,  changed  its  usual  course,  and  stopped 
for  several  hours.  The  next  morning  the  French 
and  English  fleets  were  dispersed  by  a  violent  storm. 

Those  who  hate  the  very  name  of  a  miracle 
(although  in  reality  they  suppose  the  greatest  of  all 
miracles,  that  is,  the  tying  up  of  the  hands  of  the 
Almighty  from  disposing  events  according  to  his 
will)  pretend,  "This  was  only  an  extraordinary 
ebb."  But  this  very  ebb  was  an  extraordinary 
providence,  as  the  descent,  which  must  have  termi- 
nated in  the  destruction  of  the  republic,  was  to  be 
punctually  at  that  and  no  other  time.  But  that 
this  retrogradation  of  the  sea  was  no  natural  event, 
is  as  certain  as  anything  in  nature. 


118  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

Many  writers  of  unquestionable  veracity  might  be 
produced  to  confirm  the  truth  of  the  fact.  I  shall 
only  cite  one,  who  was  at  the  Hague  but  three  years 
after  it  happened  :  l '  An  extraordinary  thing  lately 
happened  at  the  Hague.  I  had  it  from  many  eye- 
witnesses. The  English  fleet  appeared  in  sight  of 
Scheveling,  making  up  to  the  shore.  The  tide 
turned ;  but  they  made  no  doubt  of  landing  the 
forces  the  next  flood,  where  they  were  like  to  meet 
no  resistance.  The  states  sent  to  the  prince  for  men 
to  hinder  the  descent,  but  he  could  spare  few, 
having  the  French  near  him.  So  the  country  was 
given  up  for  lost ;  their  admiral,  De  Ruyter,  with 
their  fleet,  being  absent.  The  flood  returned,  which 
the  people  expected  would  end  in  their  ruin ;  but,  to 
the  amazement  of  them  all,  after  the  sea  had  flowed 
two  or  three  hours,  an  ebb  of  many  hours  succeeded, 
which  carried  the  fleet  again  to  sea.  And  before  the 
flood  returned,  De  Ruyter  came  in  view.  This  they 
esteemed  no  less  than  a  miracle  wrought  for  their 
preservation. 


PEOVIDENCES  IN  BIBLE  TRANSLATION. 

God's  wonderful  care  for  those  who  labor  to 
disseminate  his  Word,  has  often  been  remarked. 
The  following  are  a  few  of  many  instances  : 

Long  before  the  establishment  of  Bible  societies, 
the  Rev.  Peter  Williams,  a  pious,  distinguished 
preacher  of  Wales,  seeing  that  his  countrymen  were 
almost  entirely  destitute  of  the  Bible,  and  knowing 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  119 

that  the  work  of  the  Lord  could  not  prosper  without 
it;  undertook,  though  destitute  of  the  means,  to 
translate  and  publish  a  Welsh  Bible  for  their  use. 
Having  expended  all  his  living,  and  being  deeply 
involved  in  debt,  with  the  work  yet  unfinished,  he 
expected  every  hour  to  be  arrested  and  imprisoned, 
without  the  means  or  hope  of  release. 

One  morning  he  had  taken  an  affectionate  leave  of 
his  family  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  his  pious 
labors,  with  an  expectation  that  he  should  not  be 
permitted  to  return,  when,  just  as  he  was  mounting 
his  horse,  a  stranger  rode  up  and  presented  him  a 
letter.  He  stopped  and  opened  it,  and  found  to  his 
astonishment,  that  it  contained  information  that  a 
lady  had  bequeathed  him  a  legacy  of  £300  sterling. 
44 Now,"  said  he,  "my  dear  wife,  I  can  finish  my 
Bible,  pay  my  debts,  and  live  in  peace  at  home. " 

Williams  escaped  imprisonment  that  he  might 
translate  the  word  of  God ; — others  have  been  kept 
in  prison  to  accomplish  the  same  design. 

Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible  was  made  while 
shut  in  by  the  gloomy  walls  of  Wartburg  castle. 
From  that  lonely  hiding-place  in  the  Black  Forest 
went  forth  rays  of  light  to  illuminate  the  world 
through  all  succeeding  generations. 

De  Sacy,  a  French  Christian,  was  thrown  into  the 
Bastile,  in  1666,  by  the  Jesuits,  and  lay  there  two 
years  and  a  half.  There  he  translated  the  Bible 
into  French.  One  night  he  finished  the  book,  and 
the  very  next  day  his  prison  doors  were  flung  open, 
and  he  went  forth  free,  bearing  the  word  of  God  in 


120  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

the  language  of  the  common  people.  Thus  has  God 
guarded  his  living  Word,  notwithstanding  the  fury 
of  his  foes,  and  made  the  wrath  and  spite  of  men  to 
praise  his  name. 


THE  SUICIDE  SAVED. 

A  writer  in  the  Sunday- School  Workman,  relates 
an  incident  occurring  in  her  immediate  neighborhood 
which  illustrates  the  wonderful  providence  of  God  in 
the  preservation  of  human  life. 

"  Our  maid,"  she  says,  "was  busy  hanging  clothes 
on  the  line,  when,  chancing  to  raise  her  eyes,  she 
saw  a  female  form  suspended  from  one  of  the  windows 
of  a  house,  so  situated  that  it  could  not  easily  be 
seen  from  any  of  the  adjoining  houses. 

In  an  instant  the  alarm  was  given,  and  the  poor 
woman,  who,  in  a  moment  of  delirium,  sought  to 
destroy  her  life,  was  released  from  her  perilous 
position.  Only  a  little  hook  had  held  her  clothes, 
and  prevented  her  death." 

The  man  who  forged  that  hook,  and  he  who  set  it 
in  its  place,  little  thought  of  the  importance  of  their 
work;  but  God  saw  it  all  the  time.  Had  the  hook 
been  slighted  in  the  making,  or  had  it  been  fastened 
carelessly,  and  insecurely,  it  might  have  cost  a  life. 
But  the  hook  was  strong  and  firm,  and  right  side  up, 
and  it  saved  a  soul  from  death. 

God  uses  many  hooks,  not  only  putting  them  in 
the  jaws  of  the  ungodly  to  turn  them  back,  but  also 
to  pluck  his  tempted  saints  out  of  many  dangerous 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  121 

nets.  A  word,  a  deed,  a  smile,  a  prayer,  a  tear, 
may  prove  the  salvation  of  some  bewildered  soul. 
Be  faithful  then.  Learn  that  all  your  work  is  done 
for  God.  Slight  nothing.  Have  the  same  evidence 
of  your  salvation  that  the  little  servant  girl  had,  who, 
when  asked  how  she  knew  she  was  converted,  said, 
"Because  I  sweep  under  the  mats." 

Life  and  health  may  depend  upon  your  present 
acts,  and  untold  results  may  follow  some  unconsid- 
ered  effort.  Live  faithful  then,  and  walk  as  before 
the  Lord,  remembering  that  nothing  can  be  trifling 
which  attracts  the  notice  of  his  eye. 


ACCOUNT  OF  ME.  STUDLY. 

"  No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper." 

Mr.  Studly  was  the  son  of  an  attorney  in  Kent, 
who  was  worth  about  four  hundred  pounds  a  year ;  a 
man  remarkable  for  his  enmity  against  the  power  of 
religion,  and  the  people  called  Puritans.  His  son 
seemed  for  some  years  to  tread  in  his  father's  steps, 
till  the  Lord,  who  had  separated  him  from  his  mother's 
womb,  was  pleased  to  call  him  by  his  grace  in  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  manner : 

Young  Mr.  Studly,  being  in  London,  and  having 
spent  an  evening  in  gay  company,  was  intoxicated 
with  liquor.  Returning  in  the  night  to  his  lodging, 
he  fell  down  into  a  cellar,  and  in  the  fall  was  seized 
with  such  horror  of  mind,  that  he  absolutely  thought 
he  had  fallen  into  hell.  He  lay  there  some  hours, 
though  he  received  little  harm  from  the  fall.  Stupid, 


122  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

affrighted,  and  heated  with  liquor,  he  imagined  that  he 
was  actually  in  the  pit  of  misery.  When  he  recov- 
ered himself,  and  had  got  home  into  Kent,  he  became 
very  thoughtful  and  serious,  applying  himself  dili- 
gently to  reading  the  Scriptures  and  to  prayer.  His 
father  soon  perceived  the  change  in  his  disposition 
and  conduct,  and  greatly  dreading  that  his  son  would 
turn  Puritan,  behaved  in  a  very  harsh  and  severe 
manner  to  him,  and  even  obliged  him  to  dress 
the  horses ;  to  all  which  he  readily  and  humbly  sub- 
mitted. And  when  at  any  time  his  father  perceived 
that  he  sat  up  late  at  night  to  read  his  Bible,  he 
denied  him  candle-light ;  but  being  allowed  to  have 
a  fire  in  his  chamber,  he  used  to  lie  all  along  on  the 
floor,  and  read  by  the  light  of  the  fire.  He  has  told 
his  friends  that  while  employed  in  dressing  his  father's 
horses  in  his  frock,  and  lying  on  the  floor  to  read,  he 
received  such  comforts  and  joys  from  the  Lord,  as 
were  scarcely  ever  equalled  afterwards. 

The  old  gentleman,  finding  his  endeavors  to  dis- 
courage him  from  religion  ineffectual,  resolved  to 
send  him  to  France,  hoping  that  change  of  air  and 
levity  of  manners  might  cure  him  of  his  melancholy. 
Accordingly  he  went ;  but  being  left  to  his  own  dis- 
posal, he  was  providentially  directed  to  a  godly 
Protestant  minister,  with  whom  he  fixed  himself,  and 
with  whom  he  soon  contracted  a  most  pleasing  and 
profitable  friendship.  Here  he  made  a  rapid  progress 
in  learning  and  speaking  French,  an  account  of  which 
was  communicated  to  his  father.  Soon  after  this  he 
was  ordered  to  return  to  England,  and  by  the  father's 


THE  GUIDING  HAND.  123 

invitation,  or  the  son's  persuasion,  the  tutor  accom- 
panied him ;  and  was  affectionately  received  by  old 
Mr.  Studly,  who  as  yet  knew  nothing  of  his  being  a 
minister.  At  length  the  father  surprised  the  French 
gentleman  and  his  son  at  prayer  together,  which  so 
enraged  him,  that  he  immediately  paid  him  what  was 
owing,  and  dismissed  him. 

Another  expedient  was  now  adopted.  Old  Mr. 
Studly  having  some  interest  with  a  person  of  honor, 
a  lady  of  quality  at  Whitehall,  prevailed  with  her  to 
take  his  son  into  her  family,  who  was  by  his  educa- 
tion qualified  for  such  a  station.  He  hoped  by 
the  gaiety  of  court  life  to  drive  away  his  melancholy, 
as  he  called  his  son's  seriousness  in  religion. 

o 

When  fixed  in  this  new  station,  having  consider- 
able authority  over  the  numerous  servants  of  the 
house,  he  took  the  liberty  to  reprove  them  for  swear- 
ing and  other  vices,  with  such  prudence  and  gravity 
that  sin  fell  down  before  him ;  so  that  when  any  of 
them  were  improperly  employed,  it  was  enough  to 
deter  them  if  they  heard  Mr.  Studly  coming.  When 
a  year  was  elapsed,  the  father  waited  upon  the  lady, 
to  enquire  how  the  young  man  had  approved  himself 
in  his  place.  She  replied,  she  was  heartily  glad  that 
Mr.  Studly  had  come  into  her  house,  for  he  had 
effected  a  wonderful  reformation  in  the  family.  She 
had,  she  said,  been  formerly  troubled  with  the  unruly 
conduct  of  her  servants ;  but,  by  his  prudent  man- 
agement, all  was  now  as  quiet  as  in  a  private  family 
in  the  country .  At  this  the  old  man  perfectly  stormed , 
and  exclaimed,  "What!  will  he  make  Puritans  in 


124  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

Whitehall  ?"  He  told  the  lady,  that  was  no  place  for 
his  son,  he  would  take  him  home ;  which  to  her  great 
dissatisfaction  he  did. 

The  only  method  he  could  now  devise  to  stifle  the 
work  of  religion,  was  to  get  his  son  married  to  some 
gay  young  lady  in  an  irreligious  family.  Having 
such  a  one  in  his  eye,  he  ordered  his  son  one  evening 
to  be  ready  to  accompany  him  on  horseback  on  the 
morning  following ;  and  when  on  the  road,  ordered 
the  servant,  who  was  behind  them,  to  ride  on  before, 
and  then  addressed  himself  to  the  young  man  to  the 
following  purpose  :  "Son,  you  have  been  the  occasion 
of  great  grief  to  my  mind.  I  have  used  a  variety  of 
methods  to  reclaim  you  from  the  strange  way  you  are 
in,  and  as  yet  to  no  purpose.  I  have  one  more  remedy 
to  apply,  and  if  you  comply  with  my  wishes  in  it,  I 
will  settle  my  whole  estate  on  you ;  but  if  you  refuse, 
you  shall  never  enjoy  a  groat  of  it.  We  are  now 
going  to  such  a  gentleman's  house,  and  to  his  daughter 
I  intend  to  marry  you."  The  young  man  said  little 
in  reply,  knowing  that  family  to  be  profane  ;  however, 
they  went  on  to  the  house,  where  they  were  kindly 
received  and  nobly  entertained,  the  father  having 
before  prepared  the  way. 

On  their  return  homeward  the  old  gentleman  asked 
his  son  how  he  liked  the  lady  ?  The  young  man,  who 
was  really  captivated  with  her  beauty  (for  she  was 
remarkably  handsome)  replied,  No  man  living  could 
help  liking  such  a  woman ;  he  was  only  afraid  she 
would  not  like  him.  The  father,  heartily  glad  that  the 
bait  was  taken,  bid  him  take  no  care  for  that.  The 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  125 

courtship  that  ensued  was  not  long,  for  in  three  weeks 
they  both  came  to  London  to  buy  wedding  clothes. 

The  father  had  been  particularly  careful  to  desire 
that  while  his  son  paid  his  addresses,  there  might  be 
no  swearing  or  debauchery,  lest  he  should  be  dis- 
couraged. But  when  the  wedding  day  came ,  the  mask 
was  thrown  off ;  they  indulged  themselves  at  the  din- 
ner with  drinking  healths,  and  profane  swearing  ;  and, 
amongst  the  rest,  the  bride  herself  swore  an  oath. 

At  this  the  bridegroom,  as  a  man  amazed,  took 
occasion  to  leave  the  table,  went  to  the  stable,  saddled 
his  horse,  and  rode  away  unobserved,  all  being  busy 
in  the  house.  As  he  rode  along  he  bewailed  his  con- 
dition, having,  he  judged,  ruined  his  peace  for  ever. 
He  recollected  that  during  the  affair  he  had  restrained 
prayer,  and  of  course  lost  his  communion  with  God, 
when  he  should  have  been  doubly  and  trebly  diligent, 
that  he  had  inconsiderately  fallen  in  love,  and  improp- 
erly hurried  on  the  match,  so  that  he  was  now  utterly 
and  deservedly  undone.  With  such  painful  thoughts 
as  these  he  rode  on,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  or 
whither  to  go.  Sometimes  he  thought  of  riding  quite 
away.  At  length,  being  among  the  woods,  he  led 
his  horse  to  a  solitary  place,  tied  him  to  a  tree,  and 
betook  himself  to  earnest  prayer,  in  which  he  spent 
the  whole  afternoon.  He  was  led  to  pray  chiefly  for 
the  conversion  of  his  wife,  which  he  sought  with 
earnest  cries  and  tears,  looking  on  himself  as  a  ruined 
man  if  this  were  not  granted ;  nor  did  he  rise  from 
his  knees  without  some  good  hope  of  being  heard. 

In  the  mean  time  all  was  hurry  and  confusion  at 


126  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

the  house  he  had  left.  When  the  bridegroom  was 
missed,  messengers  were  sent  out  in  every  direction 
to  seek  him.  But  no  news  of  him  could  be  got.  He 
was  crying  to  God,  as  Jacob  did  at  Peniel. 

When  the  evening  came  he  returned,  and,  enquir- 
ing where  his  bride  was,  found  her  sitting  in  her 
chamber,  pensive  enough.  She  asked  him  if  he  had 
done  well  to  expose  her  to  scorn  and  derision  all  the 
day.  He  entreated  her  to  sit  down  on  a  couch  there, 
by  him,  and  he  would  give  her  an  account  of  what  he 
had  been  doing,  and  the  reason  of  it.  He  then  told  her 
the  story  of  his  whole  life,  and  what  the  Lord,  by  his 
grace ,  had  done  for  him  :  and  this  he  did  with  much 
affection  and  many  tears,  the  flood  gates  of  which  had 
been  opened  in  the  wood  ;  and  frequently  in  the  course 
of  his  story,  he  would  say,  Through  grace,  God  did 
so  and  so  for  me.  When  he  had  related  the  whole — 
and  by  the  way,  this  was  St  Paul's  method,  by  which 
many  were  converted,  to  tell  over  the  story  of  his 
conversion — she  asked  him  what  he  meant  by  that  ex- 
pression, which  he  so  often  used,  "through  grace!" 
so  ignorantly  had  she  been  educated  ;  and  also  asked 
him  if  he  thought  there  was  no  grace  in  God  for  her, 
who  was  so  wretched  a  stranger  to  him.  "Yes,  my 
dear,"  said  he,  * 'there  is  grace  for  you,  and  it  is  that 
I  have  been  praying  for  in  the  wood.  God  hath  heard 
my  prayer,  and  seen  my  tears ;  and  let  us  now  go 
together  to  him  about  it."  Then  they  kneeled  down 
by  the  couch,  and  he  prayed ;  and  they  both  were  so 
engaged  in  weeping  and  supplication,  that  their  eyes 
were  much  swollen. 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  127 

When  they  came  down  to  supper,  and  were  at  the 
table,  the  bride's  .father,  according  to  custom,  swore. 
The  bride  immediately  said,  ''Father,  pray  don't 
swear."  At  which  Mr.  Studly  rose  from  his  seat  in 
prodigious  anger,  and  cried,  "What!  is  the  devil  in 
him  ?  has  he  made  his  wife  a  Puritan  already  ?  "  and 
swore  bitterly  that  he  would  rather  set  fire  to  the 
four  corners  of  his  fair-built  house,  with  his  own 
hands,  than  his  son  should  ever  enjoy  it.  When  he 
returned  home,  he  immediately  made  his  will,  leaving 
his  son  only  ten  pounds ,  to  cut  off  his  claim ;  and 
bequeathed  his  estate  to  several  others,  of  whom  a 
Dr.  Reeves  was  one.  Not  long  after  this  he  died; 
and  Dr.  Reeves  sent  for  young  Mr.  Studly,  paid  him 
his  ten  pounds,  told  him  he  had  been  a  rebellious  son, 
had  disobliged  his  father,  and  might  thank  himself. 
He  received  the  ten  pounds,  and  meekly  departed. 

The  match  had  been  so  hurried,  that  Mrs.  Studly 
had  no  portion  settled  on  her,  at  least  to  his  knowl- 
edge, for  he  left  the  whole  affair  to  his  father's  man- 
agement ;  so  that  she  was  also  deserted  by  her  friends. 
But  having  two  hundred  pounds  in  her  own  hands, 
which  had  been  left  by  a  grandmother,  they  took,  and 
stocked  a  farm  in  Sussex,  where  she,  who  had  been 
very  genteelly  educated,  has  been  often  seen  in  her 
red  waistcoat  milking  her  cows.  She  was  enabled  to 
do  all  this  with  such  cheerfulness,  that  she  greatly 
comforted  and  encouraged  her  husband.  "God,"  said 
she  "has  had  mercy  on  me,  and  any  pains-taking  is 
pleasant  to  me."  Thus  they  lived  with  much  comfort, 
and  an  increasing  family,  for  a  considerable  time. 


128  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

However,  about  three  or  four  years  after  their  mar- 
riage, as  he  was  on  the  road,  in  Kent,  he  was  met  by 
one  of  the  tenants  of  his  late  father's  estate,  and 
saluted  by  the  name  of  landlord.  "Alas  ! "  said  he,  "I 
am  none  of  you?  landlord."  "Yes,  you  are,"  replied 
the  farmer,  "I  know  more  than  you  do  of  the  settle- 
ment. Your  father,  though  a  cunning  lawyer,  with  all 
his  wit,  could  not  alienate  the  estate  from  you,  whom 
he  made  joint  purchaser.  Myself  and  some  other 
tenants  know  it,  and  have  refused  to  pay  any  money 
to  Dr.  Reeves.  I  have  sixteen  pounds  ready  for 
you  in  my  hands,  which  I  will  pay  to  your  acquit- 
tance, and  that  will  serve  you  to  wage  law  with  them." 
Mr.  Studly  was  amazed  at  this  wonderful  providence  ; 
received  the  money,  sued  for  his  estate,  and  in  a  term 
or  two  recovered  it. 

Mrs.  Studly,  enjoying  the  blessings  of  an  affection- 
ate, pious  husband,  several  fine  children,  and  a  plenti- 
ful fortune,  began  to  question  the  truth  of  her  grace, 
because  of  her  great  prosperity.  But  it  was  a  severe 
rebuke  that  the  Lord  gave  her  for  her  sin  ;  for  a  fine 
boy  about  three  years  old  fell  into  a  kettle  of  scald- 
ing wort,  and  was  taken  out  by  his  mother,  and  died. 
This  she  looked  upon  as  the  Lord's  discipline  for  her 
unthankfulness,  and  was  thus  instructed  to  know  how 
to  abound  as  well  as  how  to  suffer  want,  and  to  accept 
without  distrust  or  murmuring  the  things  which  are 
given  us  richly  to  enjoy. 

"  Many  are  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous,  but  the 
Lord  delivereth  him  out  of  them  all."  Psa.  xxxix.  19. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  129 


A  STARVING  WIDOW  FED. 

A  lady  was  travelling  with  her  young  family  and 
their  governess  to  the  sea.  They  used  post  horses 
with  their  own  carriage.  They  had  not  gone  many 
miles  before  she  discovered  that  the  cook,  contrary  to 
her  orders,  had  filled  all  the  pockets  and  every  spare 
nook  of  the  coach  with  provisions.  She  was  dis- 
pleased, and  the  first  time  they  stopped  to  change 
horses,  had  everything  turned  into  a  basket,  and  told 
the  servant  to  give  it  away.  The  governess  asked 
permission  to  go  with  the  servant  while  the  carriage 
was  detained,  to  see  it  properly  given.  A  reluctant 
consent  was  obtained,  and  she  hastened  into  the  poor- 
est part  of  the  town  that  lay  near  the  inn.  She  had 
little  time  for  any  choice,  so  turning  down  a  street 
she  resolved  to  leave  the  basket  at  the  first  clean 
looking  house  she  came  to. 

Passing  several,  she  stopped  at  one  with  a  snow- 
white  curtain  in  a  bright  window.  She  knocked  at 
the  door,  but  received  no  answer ;  she  raised  the 
latch  and  went  in.  A  woman,  reduced  by  starvation 
or  sickness  to  a  mere  skeleton,  was  at  a  bedstead, 
which  was  the  only  article  of  furniture  in  the  room. 
She  looked  languidly  at  the  lady,  who,  without  delay 
emptied  the  basket  on  the  floor — meat,  tongue,  etc. 

"  I  was  told  to  give  this  away,"  said  she,  "  and 
as  I  knew  no  one  here,  I  determined  to  leave  it  at 
the  first  clean  house  I  came  .to." 

Instead  of  thanking  or  even  answering  her,  the 


130  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

woman,  still  on  her  knees,  raised  her  hands  and  said  : 
4 « I  thank  thee,  O  my  Father  ;  thou  knowest  my  need." 
A  few  minutes  told  her  story.  She  had  lost  her 
husband  after  twenty  weeks  of  fever.  Nursing  him 
reduced  her  strength  and  devoured  her  substance. 
She  was  too  weak  to  work,  and  had  been  compelled 
to  part  with  all  her  goods,  piece  by  piece,  to  pay  her 
rent  and  obtain  bread.  "  I  knew  I  could  work  if  I 
had  meat  to  nourish  me,  "  she  said;  "  but  where 
could  I  get  it?  Where?"  she  continued,  "  why,  from 
Him  who  sent  it  by  you  just  as  I  was  asking  him  to 
let  me  have  some,  unless  it  was  his  blessed  will  that 
I  should  go  to  the  work-house." 


THE  CAPTIVE'S  EELEASE. 

During  the  war  called  Braddock's  War,  says  a  writer 
in  the  Christian  Advocate,  my  father  was  an  officer  in 
the  British  army.  One  night,  as  they  were  running 
close  to  the  coast  of  Barbary,  the  officers  on  deck 
heard  some  person  singing.  A  moment  convinced 
them  that  he  was  singing  the  Old  Hundredth  psalm 
tune.  They  immediately  conjectured  that  the  singer 
was  a  Christian  captive,  and  determined  to  attempt 
his  rescue.  Twenty  stout  sailors,  armed  with  pistols 
and  cutlasses,  manned  the  ship's  boats,  and  approached 
the  shore.  Directed  by  the  voice  of  singing  and 
prayer,  they  soon  reached  the  abode  of  the  Christian 
captive.  It  was  a  little  hut  at  the  bottom  of  his 
master's  garden,  on  a  small  river.  They  burst  open 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  131 

the  door,  and  took  him  from  his  knees,  and,  in  a  few 
moments,  he  was  on  the  ship's  deck,  frantic  with  joy. 

The  account  he  gave  of  himself  was,  that  his  name 
was  McDonald ;  that  he  was  a  native  of  Scotland, 
and  had  been  a  captive  eighteen  years  ;  had  obtained 
the  confidence  of  his  master,  and  had  the  privilege  of 
living  by  himself.  He  said  he  was  not  at  all  surprised 
when  they  broke  open  his  door;  for  the  Turks 
had  often  done  so,  and  whipped  him  when  on  his 
knees.  Throughout  his  captivity,  he  had  held  fast 
his  faith — though  apostasy  would  have  secured  his 
freedom — and  had  waited  and  hoped  until  the  hour  of 
his  release. 

And  while  all  seemed  dark  and  unpromising,  the 
Lord,  who  looks  down  from  the  height  of  his  sanc- 
tuary to  behold  the  earth  and  "  hear  the  groaning  of 
the  prisoner,"  had  planned  and  provided  a  way  for 
his  rescue  from  his  long  and  dark  captivity. 

And  how  visible  was  God's  guidance  in  his  deliv- 
erance. A  song  of  Zion,  sung  "by  the  rivers  of 
Babylon,"  brought  him  help.  Had  he  feared  the 
wrath  of  his  foes ;  had  he  hushed  his  song  and 
whispered  out  his  praises  to  escape  their  persecutions  ; 
or  had  he  sung  sooner  or  later  than  he  did ;  or  had 
the  vessel  passed  by  day,  when  others  would  have 
observed  their  movements,  he  might  have  still  re- 
mained inbondage,  and  died  a  captive  in  a  hostile  land. 

But  God  never  makes  mistakes,  and  his  providential 
arrangements  are  never  too  early,  never  too  late, 
always  in  time,  always  in  place,  and  always  true  and 
righteous  altogether. 


132  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

THE  HEAVEN-BUILT  WALL. 

In  the  campaign  of  Napoleon  in  Russia,  while  the 
French  army  was  retreating  from  Moscow,  there  lay 
in  a  poor,  low  cottage,  in  a  little  village,  an  invalid 
boy.  This  village  was  exactly  in  the  course  of  the 
retreating  army,  and  already  the  reports  of  its  ap- 
proach had  reached  and  excited  the  terrified  inhabit- 
ants. In  their  turn,  they  began  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  retreat ;  for  they  knew  there  was  no  hope  for 
them  from  the  hands  of  soldiers,  all  seeking  their  own 
preservation ,  and  giving  no  quarter  to  others .  Every 
one  who  had  the  strength  to  fly,  fled  ;  some  trying  to 
take  with  them  their  worldly  goods,  some  to  conceal 
them.  The  little  village  was  fast  growing  deserted. 
Some  burnt  their  houses  or  dismantled  them.  The 
old  were  placed  in  wagons,  and  the  young  hurried 
their  families  away  with  them. 

But  in  the  little  cottage  there  was  none  of  this 
bustle.  The  poor  crippled  boy  could  not  move  from 
his  bed.  The  widowed  mother  had  no  friends  inti- 
mate enough  to  spare  a  thought  for  her  in  this  time 
of  trouble,  when  every  one  thought  only  of  those 
nearest  to  him  and  of  himself.  What  chance  in  flight 
was  there  for  her  and  her  young  children,  among 
whom  one  was  the  poor  crippled  boy  ? 

It  was  evening,  and  the  sound  of  distant  voices  and 
of  preparation  had  died  away.  The  poor  boy  was 
wakeful  with  terror,  now  urging  his  mother  to  leave 
him  to  his  fate,  now  dreading  lest  she  should  take 
him  at  his  word,  and  leave  him  behind. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  133 

"The  neighbors  are  just  going  away;  I  hear  them 
no  longer,"  he  said.  "I  am  so  selfish  I  have  kept 
you  here.  Take  the  little  girls  with  you ;  it  is  not 
too  late.  And  I  am  safe;  who  will  hurt  a  poor 
helpless  boy  ?" 

"We  are  all  safe,"  answered  the  mother;  "God 
will  not  leave  us,  though  all  else  forsake  us." 

4 '  But  what  can  help  us  ?"  persisted  the  boy.  « « Who 
can  defend  us  from  their  cruelty  ?  Such  stories  as  I 
have  heard  of  the  ravages  of  these  men !  They  are 
not  men  ;  they  are  wild  beasts.  Oh,  why  was  I  made 
so  weak — so  weak  as  to  be  utterly  useless?  No 
strength  to  defend,  no  strength  even  to  fly." 

"There  is  a  sure  wall  for  the  defenseless,"  answered 
his  mother ;  "God  will  build  us  up  a  sure  wall." 

"You  are  my  strength  now,"  said  the  boy;  "I 
thank  God  that  you  did  not  desert  me.  I  am  so 
weak,  I  cling  to  you.  Do  not  leave  me,  indeed  !  I 
fancy  I  can  see  the  cruel  soldiers  hurrying  in.  We 
are  too  poor  to  satisfy  them,  and  they  would  pour 
their  vengeance  upon  us  !  And  yet  you  ought  to 
leave  me  !  What  right  have  I  to  keep  you  here  ? 
And  I  shall  suffer  more  if  I  see  you  suffer." 

"God  will  be  our  refuge  and  defense,"  still  said 
the  mother  ;  and  at  length,  with  low,  quieting  words, 
she  stilled  the  anxious  boy,  till  he,  too,  slept  like  his 
sisters.  The  morning  came  of  the  day  that  was  to 
bring  the  dreaded  enemy.  The  mother  and  children 
opened  their  eyes  to  find  that  a  "sure  wall"  had  in- 
deed been  built  for  their  defense.  The  snow  had 
begun  to  fall  the  evening  before.  Through  the  night 


134  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

it  had  collected  rapidly.  A  "stormy  wind,  fulfilling 
His  word,"  had  blown  the  snow  into  drifts  against 
the  low  house,  so  that  it  had  entirely  covered  it — a 
protecting  wall,  Imilt  by  Him  who  holds  the  very 
winds  in  his  fists',  and  who  ever  pities  those  who 
trust  in  him.  A  low  shed  behind  protected  the  way 
to  the  outhouse,  where  the  animals  were,  and  for 
a  few  days  the  mother  and  her  children  kept  them- 
selves alive  within  their  cottage,  shut  in  and  con- 
cealed by  the  heavy  barricade  of  snow. 

It  was  during  that  time  that  the  dreaded  scourge 
passed  over  the  village.  Every  house  was  ransacked ; 
all  the  wealthier  ones  deprived  of  their  luxuries, 
and  the  poorer  ones  robbed  of  their  necessaries.  But 
the  low-roofed  cottage  lay  sheltered  beneath  its  wall 
of  snow,  which,  in  the  silent  night,  had  gathered 
about  it.  God  had  protected  the  defenseless  with 
a  "sure  wall." 


PKOVIDENCE  AND  LAW. 

It  is  said  that  John  Fletcher,  when  a  young  man, 
was  very  anxious  to  join  the  army  to  go  to  South 
America.  The  vessel  was  ready  to  start,  friends 
secured  him  an  appointment,  but  the  morning  he  was 
to  have  sailed,  the  servant,  in  coming  into  his  room 
at  breakfast,  stumbled  and  spilled  over  him  the  boil- 
ing coffee,  and  so  scalded  him  that  he  was  unable  to 
go  on  his  journey.  He  lamented  the  accident — was 
disappointed  in  all  his  plans  ;  but  the  vessel  was  never 
heard  from.  Fletcher  was  spared  to  become  a  preacher 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  135 

of  the  gospel,  a  man  who  wielded  by  his  pen,  as  well 
as  by  his  voice,  an  overwhelming  influence  upon  the 
minds  of  men,  and  being  dead  yet  speaketh.  No 
miracle  was  wrought.  Wesley,  the  little  boy,  is 
sleeping  in  the  upper  story  of  Ep worth  Rectory.  It 
is  on  fire ;  he  is  forgotten ;  but  suddenly  a  woman 
remembers  there  is  a  child  asleep,  and  she  calls,  and 
the  child  shows  his  head  at  the  window  ;  and  a  brave 
man  at  the  risk  of  himself  being  burned,  mounts  a 
ladder,  and  the  little  fellow  throws  himself  into  his 
arms  and  is  saved,  and  Wesley  is  spared  to  enlighten 
the  world. 

No  law  of  nature  is  violated ;  but  oh !  these  sug- 
gestions, these  thoughts  that  drop  from  heaven,  that 
change  and  mould  the  whole  sphere  of  our  lives  ! 
This  breathing!  God  breathed  into  man,  and  he 
became  a  living  soul.  Jesus,  when  he  rose  from  the 
dead,  breathed  and  said:  "Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost."  That  spirit  of  breathing,  that  spiritual 
influence,  it  comes  down  on  the  hearts  of  men,  and 
may  change  and  fashion  and  mould  and  save,  and  yet 
all  these  laws  of  nature  remain  uniform  and  immu- 
table. God  is  all  around  us.  God's  laws  stand  all 
the  time.  We  lean  on  them  like  pillars  of  the  universe. 
We  place  our  feet  on  them  like  the  rock  of  ages. 
We  hold  fast  to  them,  knowing  that  the  foundations 
shall  give  way  sooner  than  they.  And  yet,  in  the 
midst  of  all  these ,  there  is  a  sphere  under  which  we 
can  work  in  harmony  with  these  laws  and  have  their 
protecting  power,  and  still  God  can  care  for  the  men 
who  care  for  Him.  Here  is  the  whole  realm  in  which 


136  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

we  may  find  safety.  I  will  not  say  positively  that 
God  never  interfered  with  nature's  laws,  that  there 
is  never  any  response  in  this  direction  in  answer  to 
prayer.  I  will  not  make  the  affirmation  that  God 
never  suspends  a  .natural  law;  but  I  will  say,  I  see 
no  necessity  for  it.  Christ  never  showed  any 
example  of  it  in  his  own  life ;  and  save  when  there 
was  a  necessity  for  declaring  God  was  there,  that  he 
might  give  a  revelation,  and  men  might  know  it  was 
from  God,  we  find  no  such  case  of  miraculous  inter- 
vention. And  now,  then,  if  God  can  so  work,  what 
is  to  prevent  us  feeling  we  are  encircled  within  his 
arms  and  his  power  attends  us  ?  Bp> 


THE  LOST  DEEDS. 

Dr.  Bedell  relates  that,  while  Bishop  Chase,  of 
Ohio,  was  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Beck,  in  Philadelphia, 
he  received  a  package  from  Dr.  Ward,  the  Bishop  of 
Sodor  and  Man,  making  inquiries  relating  to  certain 
property  in  America,  of  which  some  old  person  in  his 
diocese  was  the  heir.  The  letter  had  gone  to  Ohio, 
followed  him  to  Washington,  then  to  Philadelphia, 
and  found  him  at  Mr.  Beck's.  When  he  read  it  to 
Mr.  B.,  the  latter  was  in  amazement,  and  said, — 

''Bishop  Chase,  I  am  the  only  man  in  the  world 
who  can  give  you  this  information.  I  have  the  deeds 
in  my  possession,  and  have  had  them  forty-three 
years,  not  knowing  what  to  do  with  them,  or  where 
any  heirs  were  to  be  found." 

How  wonderful  that  the  application  should  have 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  137 

been  made  to  Bishop  Chase,  and  he  not  in  Ohio,  but 
a  guest  in  the  house  of  the  only  man  who  possessed 
any  information  on  the  subject ! 


AEE  TKACTS  WASTED? 

Some  people  think  that  the  day  of  the  usefulness 
of  tracts  has  gone  by,  and  that  the  tract  distributor's 
task  is  as  idle  as  the  throwing  of  sand  to  the  four 
winds  of  heaven.  But  though  a  printed  word  may 
be  wasted,  just  as  a  spoken  word  may  be  addressed  to 
careless  ears,  no  one  knows  upon  what  ground  the 
seed  will  fall.  Recently  it  was  reported  in  the  news 
columns  of  a  New  York  daily  paper,  a  man  stepped 
into  a  horse-car  in  New  York,  and,  before  taking  his 
seat,  gave  to  each  passenger  a  little  card  bearing  the 
inscription,  "  Look  to  Jesus  when  tempted,  when 
troubled,  when  dying."  One  of  the  passengers  care- 
fully read  the  card  and  put  it  into  his  pocket.  As 
he  left  the  car  he  said  to  the  giver  :  "  Sir,  when  you 
gave  me  this  card,  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  ferry, 
intending  to  jump  from  the  boat  and  drown  myself. 
The  death  of  my  wife  and  son  had  robbed  me  of  all 
desire  to  live.  But  this  ticket  has  persuaded  me  to 
begin  life  anew.  Good-day,  and  God  bless  you  ! " 
All  this  is  no  imaginary  story,  taken  from  a  religious 
novel.  It  happened  to  be  on  a  Fulton  Ferry  car,  on 
a  day  in  March,  1878,  and  the  man  who  distributed 
the  cards  was  Mr.  James  Huggins,  the  proprietor 
of  the  Pearl  Street  printing  establishment. 


138  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 


THE  LORD'S  LEADING. 

Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  led  us,  in  darkness  and  in  day, 
Through  all  the  various  stages  of  the  narrow,  homeward  way ; 
Long  since,  he  toak  that  journey — he  trod  that  path  alone, 
Its  trials  and  its  dangers  full  well  himself  hath  known. 

Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  led  us  ;  the  promise  has  not  failed ; 
The  enemy  encountered  oft  has  never  quite  prevailed ; 
The  shield  of  faith  has  turned  aside,  or  quenched  each  fiery  dart, 
The  Spirit's  sword  in  weakest  hands  has  forced  him  to  depart. 

Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  led  us  ;  the  waters  have  been  high, 
But  yet  in  passing  through  them,  we  felt  that  he  was  nigh. 
A  very  present  helper  in  trouble  we  have  found ; 
His  comforts  most  abounded  when  our  sorrows  did  abound. 

Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  led  us  ;  our  need  hath  been  supplied, 
And  mercy  hath  encompassed  us  about  on  every  side ; 
Still  falls  the  daily  manna ;  the  pure  rock-fountains  now ; 
And  many  flowers  of  love  and  hope  along  the  wayside  grow. 

Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  led  us  ;  and  will  he  now  forsake 
The  feeble  ones  whom  for  his  own  it  pleases  him  to  take  ? 
Oh,  never,  never !  earthly  friends  may  cold  and  faithless  prove, 
But  his  is  changeless  pity  and  everlasting  love. 

Calmly  we  look  behind  us,  our  joys  and  sorrows  past, 
We  know  that  all  is  mercy  now,  and  shall  be  well  at  last ; 
Calmly  we  look  before  us, — we  fear  no  future  ill, 
Enough  for  safety  and  for  peace,  if  thou  art  with  us  still. 

Yes  ;  they  that  know  thy  name,  Lord,  shall  put  their  trust  in  thee, 
While  nothing  in  themselves  but  sin  and  helplessness  they  see. 
The  race  thou  hast  appointed  us,  with  patience  we  can  run, 
Thou  wilt  perform  unto  the  end  the  work  thou  hast  begun. 


THE  GUIDING  HAND. 


DREAMS  AND  IMPRESSIONS, 


' '  FOR  GOD  SPEAKETH  ONCE,  YEA  TWICE,  YET  MAN  PERCEIV- 
ETH  IT  NOT.  IN  A  DREAM,  IN  A  VISION  OP  THE  NIGHT,  WHEN 
DEEP  SLEEP  FALLETH  UPON  MEN,  IN  SLUMBERINGS  UPON  THE 
BED;  THEN  HE  OPENETH  THE  EARS  OF  MEN,  AND  SEALETII 
THEIR  INSTRUCTION,  THAT  HE  MAY  WITHDRAW  MAN  FROM  HIS 

PURPOSE,    AND    HIDE    PRIDE     FROM    MAN.       HE    KEEPETH    BACK 
HIS    SOUL    FROM   THE    PIT,    AND    HIS    LIFE    FROM    PERISHING    BY 

THE  SWORD."     Job  xxxiii.  14-18. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND. 


DEEAIS  AND  IMPKESSIONS. 


TEMENT'S  DELIVERANCE. 

About  the  year  1744,  when  William  Tennent,  of 
New  Jersey,  a  man  eminent  for  his  zeal  and  piety, 
was  laboring  in  the  great  revivals  of  that  time,  he 
had  associated  with  him  a  Mr.  David  Rowland  who 
was  very  successful  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  among  all  classes  of  people.  An  estimable 
and  eloquent  man,  and  deeply  devoted  to  the  service 
of  his  Heavenly  Master,  his  celebrity  and  success 
gave  great  uneasiness  to  many  careless  worldlings, 
who  sought  happiness  in  the  enjoyment  of  temporal 
things,  and  considered  and  represented  Mr.  Rowland 
and  his  brethren  as  hypocrites  and  fanatics.  Many 
of  the  great  men  of  New  Jersey  held  this  view  of 
the  case,  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  the  Chief 
Justice,  who  was  well  known  for  his  disbelief  in 
divine  revelation. 

There  was  at  this  time,  prowling  through  the 
country,  a  noted  man  by  the  name  of  Tom  Bell,  whose 


142  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

knowledge  and  understanding  were  very  considerable, 
and  who  greatly  excelled  in  low  art  and  cunning. 
His  mind  was  totally  debased,  and  his  whole  conduct 
betrayed  a  soul  capable  of  descending  to  every 
species  of  iniquity.  In  all  arts  of  theft,  robbery, 
fraud,  deception,  and  defamation,  he  was  so  deeply 
skilled,  and  thoroughly  practiced,  that  it  is  believed 
he  never  had  his  equal  in  this  country.  He  had  been 
indicted  in  ajmost  every  one  of  the  middle  colonies  ; 
but  his  ingenuity  and  cunning  always  enabled  him  to 
escape  punishment.  This  man,  unhappily,  resemble^ 
Mr.  Rowland  in  his  external  appearance,  so  as  hardly 
to  be  known  from  him  without  the  most  careful 
examination. 

It  so  happened,  that  Tom  Bell  arrived  one  evening 
at  a  tavern  in  Princeton,  dressed  in  a  dark,  parson's- 
gray  frock.  On  his  entering  the  tavern,  about  dusk, 
the  late  John  Stockton,  Esq.,  of  that  town,  a  pious 
and  respectable  man,  to  whom  Mr.  Rowland  was  well 
known,  went  up  to  Bell,  and  addressed  him  as  Mr. 
Rowland,  and  invited  him  to  go  home  with  him. 
Bell  assured  him  of  his  mistake.  It  was  with  some 
difficulty  that  Mr.  Stockton  acknowledged  his  error, 
and  then  informed  Bell  that  it  had  arisen  from  his 
great  resemblance  to  Mr.  Rowland.  This  hint  was 
sufficient  for  the  prolific  genius  of  that  notorious 
impostor. 

The  next  day  Bell  went  into  the  county  of  Hunter- 
don,  and  stopped  in  a  neighborhood  where  Mr.  Row- 
land had  formerly  preached  once  or  twice ,  but  where 
he  was  not  intimately  known.  Here  he  met  with  a 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  143 

member  of  the  congregation,  to  whom  he  introduced 
himself  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rowland,  who  had  preached 
to  them  some  time  before.  This  gentleman  invited 
him  to  his  house,  to  spend  the  week;  and  begged 
him,  as  the  people  were  without  a  minister,  to  preach 
for  them  on  the  next  Sunday;  to  which  Bell  agreed, 
and  notice  was  accordingly  given  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  impostor  was  treated  with  every  mark  of  atten- 
tion and  respect ;  and  a  private  room  was  assigned  to 
him,  as  a  study,  to  prepare  for  the  coming  Sunday. 
The  sacred  day  arrived,  and  he  was  invited  to  ride 
to  church  with  the  ladies  in  the  family  wagon,  while  the 
master  of  the  house  accompanied  them  on  an  elegant 
horse .  When  they  had  arrived  near  the  church ,  Bell, 
on  a  sudden,  discovered  that  he  had  left  his  notes  in 
his  study,  and  proposed  to  ride  back  for  them  on  the 
fine  horse,  by  which  means  he  should  be  able  to  return 
in  time  for  the  service.  This  proposal  was  instantly 
agreed  to,  and  Bell  mounted  the  horse,  returned  to  the 
house,  rifled  the  desk  of  his  host,  and  made  off  with 
the  horse.  Wherever  he  stopped  he  called  himself 
the  Rev.  David  Rowland. 

At  the  time  this  event  took  place,  Messrs.  Tennent 
and  Rowland  had  gone  into  Pennsylvania  or  Mary  land, 
with  Mr.  Joshua  Anderson  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Stevens 
—both  members  of  a  church  contiguous  to  that  where 
Bell  had  practiced  his  fraud — on  business  of  a  relig- 
ious nature.  Soon  after  their  return,  Mr.  Rowland 
was  charged  with  the  above  robbery  ;  he  gave  bonds 
to  appear  at  the  court  at  Trenton,  and  the  affair  made 
a  great  noise  throughout  the  colony.  At  the  court 


144  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

of  oyer  and  terminer,  the  judge  charged  the  grand 
jury  on  the  subject  with  great  severity.  After  long 
consideration,  the  jury  returned  into  the  court  without 
finding  a  bill.  The  judge  reproved  them,  in  an  angry 
manner,  and  ordered  them  out  again.  They  returned 
without  finding  a  bill,  and  were  again  sent  out  with 
threatenings  of  severe  punishment  if  they  persisted 
in  their  refusal.  At  last  they  brought  in  a  bill  for 
the  alleged  crime.  On  the  trial,  Messrs.  Tennent, 
Anderson,  and.  Stevens  appeared  as  witnesses,  and 
fully  proved  an  alibi  in  favor  of  Mr.  Rowland,  by 
swearing,  that  on  the  very  day  the  robbery  was 
committed,  they  were  with  Mr.  Rowland,  and  heard 
him  preach  in  Pennsylvania  or  Maryland.  The  jury 
accordingly  acquitted  him  without  hesitation,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  well-disposed,  but  to  the  discom- 
fiture of  the  prosecutors,  who,  indignant  at  the  failure 
of  their  plans,  soon  contrived  another  scheme  to 
bring  reproach  upon  these  servants  of  the  Lord. 

The  testimony  of  the  person  who  had  been  robbed 
was  positive  that  Mr.  Rowland  was  the  robber ;  and 
this  testimony  was  corroborated  by  that  of  a  number 
of  individuals  who  had  seen  Tom  Bell  personating 
Mr.  Rowland,  using  his  name,  and  in  the  possession 
of  the  horse.  These  sons  of  Belial  had  been  able, 
after  great  industry  used  for  the  purpose,  to  collect 
a  mass  of  evidence  of  this  kind,  which  they  consid- 
ered as  establishing  the  fact ;  but  Mr.  Rowland  was 
now  out  of  their  power  by  the  verdict  of  not  guilty. 
Their  vengeance,  therefore,  was  directed  against  the 
witnesses  by  whose  testimony  he  had  been  cleared ; 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  145 

and  they  were  accordingly  arraigned  for  perjury, 
before  a  court  of  quarter  sessions  in  the  county ;  and 
the  grand  jury  received  a  strict  charge,  the-  plain 
import  of  which  was  that  these  good  men  ought  to 
be  indicted.  After  an  examination  of  the  testimony 
on  one  side  only,  as  is  the  custom  in  such  cases,  the 
grand  jury  did  accordingly  find  bills  of  indictment 
against  Messrs.  Tenucnt,  Anderson,  and  Stevens, 
for  willful  and  corrupt  perjury.  Their  enemies,  and 
the  enemies  of  the  gospel,  now  began  to  triumph. 
They  gloried  in  the  belief  that  an  indelible  stain 
would  be  fixed  on  the  professors  of  religion,  and  of 
consequence,  on  religion  itself;  and  that  this  new 
light,  by  which  they  denominated  all  appearance  of 
piety,  would  soon  be  extinguished  forever. 

These  indictments  were  removed  to  the  supreme 
court;  and  poor  Anderson,  living  in  the  country,  and 
conscious  of  his  entire  innocence,  could  not  brook  the 
idea  of  lying  under  the  odium  of  the  hateful  crime  of 
perjury,  and  demanded  a  trial  at  the  first  court  of  oyer 
and  terminer.  This  proved  most  seriously  injurious 
to  him  ;  for  he  was  pronounced  guilty ,  and  most  cruelly 
and  unjustly  condemned  to  stand  one  hour  on  the 
court-house  steps,  with  a  paper  on  his  breast,  whereon 
was  written,  in  large  letters,  "This  is  for  willful  and 
corrupt  perjury  ;"  which  sentence  was  performed  upon 
him. 

Messrs.  Tennent  and  Stevens  were  summoned  to 
appear  at  the  court,  and  attended  accordingly ;  de- 
pending on  the  aid  of  Mr.  John  Coxe,  an  eminent 
lawyer  who  had  previously  been  employed  to  conduct 


146  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

their  defense.  As  Mr.  Tennent  was  wholly  unac- 
quainted with  the  nature  of  forensic  litigation,  and  did 
not  know  of  any  person  living  who  cculd  prove  his 
innocence,  all  the  persons  who  were  with  him  being 
indicted,  his  only  resource  and  consolation  was  to  com- 
mit himself  to  the  Divine  will,  and  if  he  must  suffer, 
to  take  it  as  from  the  hand  of  God,  who  he  well  knew 
could  make  even  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him.  And 
considering  it  as  probable  that  he  might  suffer,  he 
had  prepared  a  sermon  to  be  preached  from  the  pillory 
if  that  should  be  his  fate.  His  affectionate  conorega- 

o     o 

tion  felt  deeply  interested  in  his  critical  situation,  and 
kept  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  on  the  occasion. 
On  his  arrival  at  Trenton,  he  found  the  famous  Mr. 
Smith,  of  New  York,  father  of  the  late  Chief  Justice 
of  Canada,  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  America,  and 
of  a  religious  character,  who  had  voluntarily  attended 
to  aid  in  his  defense  ;  also  his  brother  Gilbert,  who  was 
settled  in  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  second  Presby- 
terian church  in  Philadelphia,  and  who  had  brought 
Mr.  John  Kinsey,  one  of  the  first  counselors  of  that 
city,  for  the  same  purpose.  Messrs.  Tennent  and 
Stevens  met  these  gentlemen  at  Mr.  Coxe's  the  morn- 
ing before  the  trial  was  to  come  on.  Mr.  Coxe  request- 
ed that  they  would  bring  in  their  witnesses,  that  they 
might  examine  them  previously  to  their  going  into 
court.  Mr.  Tennent  answered  that  he  did  not  know 
of  any  witnesses  but  God  and  his  own  conscience. 
Mr.  Coxe  replied,  "If  you  have  no  witnesses,  sir, 
the  trial  must  be  put  off:  otherwise  you  will  most 
certainly  be  convicted.  You  well  know  the  strong 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  147 

testimony  that  will  be  brought  against  you,  and  the 
exertions  being  made  to  accomplish  your  ruin."  Mr. 
Tennent  replied,  "  I  am  sensible  of  all  this,  yet  it 
never  shall  be  said  that  I  have  delayed  the  trial,  or 
been  afraid  to  meet  the  justice  of  my  country.  I 
know  my  own  conscience,  and  that  God,  whose  I  am 
and  whom  I  serve,  will  never  suffer  me  to  fall  by 
these  snares  of  the  devil,  or  by  the  wicked  machin- 
ations of  his  agents  or  servants  ;  therefore,  gentlemen, 
go  on  to  the  trial." 

Messrs.  Smith  and  Kinsey,  who  were  both  religious 
men,  told  him  that  his  confidence  and  trust  in  God  as 
a  Christian  minister  of  the  gospel,  was  well  founded, 
and  before  a  heavenly  tribunal  would  be  all-important 
to  him ;  but  assured  him  it  would  not  avail  in  an 
earthly  court,  and  urged  his  consent  to  put  off  the 
trial.  Mr.  Tennent  continued  inflexible  in  his  re- 
fusal ;  on  which  Mr.  Coxe  told  him,  that  since  he 
was  determined  to  go  to  trial,  he  had  the  satisfaction 
of  informing  him  that  they  had  discovered  a  flaw  in 
the  indictment,  that  might  prove  favorable  to  him  on 
a  demurrer.  He  asked  for  an  explanation,  and  on 
finding  that  it  was  to  admit  the  fact  on  a  legal  point 
of  view,  and  rest  on  the  law  arising  from  it,  Mr. 
Tennent  broke  out  with  great  vehemence,  saying  that 
this  was  another  snare  of  the  devil,  and  before  he 
would  consent  to  it  he  would  suffer  death.  He 
assured  his  counsel  that  his  confidence  in  God  was  so 
strong,  and  his  assurance  that  He  would  bring  about 
his  deliverance  some  way  or  other  Avas  so  great,  that 
he  did  not  wish  them  to  delay  the  trial  for  a  moment. 


148  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

Mr.  Stevens,  whose  faith  was  not  of  this  descrip- 
tion, and  who  was  bowed  down  to  the  ground  under 
the  most  gloomy  apprehensions  of  suffering  as  his 
neighbor  Mr.  Anderson  had  done,  eagerly  seized  the 
opportunity  of 'escape  that  was  offered,  and  was 
afterwards  discharged  on  the  exception. 

Mr.  Coxe  still  urged  putting  off  the  trial,  charging 
Mr.  Tennent  with  acting  the  part  rather  of  a  wild 
enthusiast,  than  of  a  meek  and  prudent  Christian ; 
but  he  insisted  that  they  should  proceed,  and  left  them 
in  astonishment,  not  knowing  how  to  act,  when  the 
bell  summoned  them  to  court. 

Mr.  Tennent  had  not  walked  far  in  the  street,  before 
he  met  a  man  and  his  wife,  who  stopped  him,  and 
asked  if  his  name  was  not  Tennent.  He  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  and  begged  to  know  if  they  had 
any  business  with  him.  The  man  replied,  "  You 
best  know."  He  told  his  name,  and  said  he  was  from 
a  certain  place  (which  he  mentioned)  in  Pennsylvania 
or  Maryland  ;  that  Messrs.  Rowland,  Tennent, 
Anderson  and  Stevens  had  lodged  either  at  his  house, 
or  in  a  house  wherein  he  and  his  wife  had  been  ser- 
vants, (it  is  not  certain  which,)  at  a  particular  time, 
which  he  named ;  that  on  the  following  day  they  had 
heard  Messrs.  Tennent  and  Rowland  preach;  that 
some  nights  before  they  left  home,  he  and  his  wife 
waked  out  of  a  sound  sleep,  and  each  told  the  other 
a  dream  which  had  just  occurred,  and  which  proved 
to  be  the  same  in  substance — to  wit,  that  he,  Mr. 
Tennent,  was  at  Trenton,  in  the  greatest  possible 
distress,  and  that  it  was  in  their  power,  and  theirs 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  149 

only,  to  relieve  him.  Considering  it  as  a  remarkable 
dream  only,  they  again  went  to  sleep,  and  it  was 
twice  repeated  in  exactly  the  same  manner  to  both  of 
them.  This  made  so  deep  an  impression  on  their 
minds  that  they  set  off,  and  here  they  were,  and 
wanted  to  know  what  they  were  to  do. 

Mr.  Tennent  immediately  went  with  them  to  the 
court-house,  and  his  counsel,  on  examining  the  man 
and  his  wife,  and  finding  their  testimony  full  to  the 
purpose,  were,  as  they  well  might  be,  in  perfect 
astonishment.  Before  the  trial  began,  another  person, 
of  a  low  character,  called  on  Mr.  Tennent,  and  told 
him  that  he  was  so  harrassed  in  conscience,  for  the 
part  he  had  been  acting  in  this  prosecution,  that  he 
could  get  no  rest  till  he  had  determined  to  come  and 
make  a  full  confession.  He  sent  this  man  to  his 
counsel  also.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Stockton,  from  Prince- 
ton, appeared  and  added  his  testimony.  In  short, 
they  went  to  trial,  and  notwithstanding  the  utmost 
exertions  of  the  ablest  counsel,  who  had  been  employ- 
ed to  aid  the  attorney-general  against  Mr.  Tennent, 
the  advocates  on  his  side  so  traced  every  movement 
of  the  defendant  on  the  Saturday,  Sunday  and  Mon- 
day in  cuiestion,  and  satisfied  the  jury  so  perfectly 
on  the  subject,  that  they  did  not  hesitate  honorably 
to  acquit  Mr.  Tennent,  by  their  unanimous  verdict 
of  not  guilty,  to  the  great  confusion  and  mortification 
of  his  numerous  opposers. 

Mr.  Tennent  assured  the  writer  of  this  that  during 
the  whole  of  this  business,  his  spirits  never  failed 
him,  and  that  he  contemplated  the  possibility  of  his 


150  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

suffering  so  infamous  a  punishment  as  standing  in 
the  pillory  without  dismay,  and  had  made  prepara- 
tion, and  was  fully  determined  to  deliver  a  sermon 
to  the  people  while  in  that  situation,  if  he  should  be 
placed  in  it. 

He  went  from  Trenton  to  Philadelphia  with  his 
brother,  and  on  his  return,  as  he  was  rising  the  hill 
at  the  entrance  of  Trenton,  without  reflecting  on  what 
had  happened,  he  accidentally  cast  his  eyes  on  the 
pillory,  which  suddenly  so  filled  him  with  horror,  as 
completely  to  unman  him,  and  it  was  with  great  diffi- 
culty that  he  kept  himself  from  falling  from  his  horse. 
He  reached  the  tavern  door  in  considerable  danger — 
was  obliged  to  be  assisted  to  dismount,  and  it  was 
some  time  before  he  could  so  get  the  better  of  his 
fears  and  confusion  as  to  proceed  on  his  journey. 
Such  is  the  constitution  of  the  human  mind  !  It  will 
often  resist  with  unshaken  firmness  the  severest 
external  pressure  and  violence ;  and  sometimes  it 
yields  without  reason  when  it  has  nothing  to  fear. 
Or,  should  we  not  rather  say,  such  is  the  support 
which  God  sometimes  affords  to  his  people  in  the  time 
of  their  necessity,  and  such  the  manner  in  which  he 
leaves  them  to  feel  their  own  weakness  when  that 
necessity  is  past,  that  all  the  praise  and  glory  of  this 
work,  as  well  as  their  salvation,  may  be  given  to  him 
to  whom  it  is  due  ? 

The  writer  sincerely  rejoices,  that  though  a  number 
of  the  extraordinary  incidents  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Ten- 
nent  cannot  be  vouched  by  public  testimony  and  au- 
thentic documents,  yet  the  singular  manner  in  which 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  151 

a  gracious  God  did  appear  for  this,  his  faithful  servant, 
in  the  time  of  that  distress  which  has  just  been 
noticed,  is  a  matter  of  public  notoriety,  and  capable 
of  being  verified  by  the  most  unquestionable  testi- 
mony and  records. 

This  special  instance  of  the  interference  of  the 
righteous  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  ought  to  yield  conso- 
lation to  pious  people  in  seasons  of  great  difficulty 
and  distress,  where  there  are  none  that  seem  able  to 
deliver  them.  Yet  it  ought  to  afford  no  encourage- 
ment to  the  enthusiast  who  refuses  to  use  the  means 
of  preservation  and  deliverance  which  God  puts  in 
his  power.  True  confidence  in  God  is  always  accom- 
panied with  the  use  of  all  lawful  means,  and  with  the 
rejection  of  all  that  are  unlawful.  It  consists  in  an 
unshaken  belief,  that  while  right  means  are  used, 
God  will  give  that  issue  which  shall  be  most  for  his 
glory,  and  his  people's  good.  The  extraordinary 
occurrence  here  recorded  may  also  serve  as  a  solemn 
warning  to  the  enemies  of  God's  people,  and  to  the 
advocates  of  infidelity,  not  to  strive  by  wicked  and 
deep-laid  machinations,  to  oppose  the  success  of  the 
gospel,  nor  to  attempt  to  injure  the  persons  and 
character  of  those  faithful  servants  of  the  Most  High, 
whom  sooner  or  later  he  will  vindicate,  to  the  un- 
speakable confusion  of  all  who  have  persecuted  and 
traduced  them. 

The  foregoing  account,  taken  from  the  memoir  of 
William  Tennent,  most  clearly  illustrates  the  wisdom 
exhibited  in  God's  gracious  providence,  and  the  deliv- 
ering power  manifested  in  the  workings  of  his  guiding 


152  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

hand.  The  same  God  yet  lives ;  let  us  trust  in  him 
in  every  trying  hour,  knowing  that  he  is  still,  as  he 
has  been  in  ages  past,  a  refuge  in  the  day  of  trouble, 
a  covert  from  the  storm,  a  present  help  in  every  time 
of  need. 


THE  WEDDING  EOBE. 

Near  Elberfeldt,  in  Germany,  there  lived  two  pious 
men,  very  intimate,  one  of  whom  had  a  worldly  wife. 
The  husband  was  taken  ill,  and  on  his  death-bed 
drew  a  promise  from  his  friend  that  he  would  visit 
his  wife,  pray  for  her,  and  lose  no  opportunity  of 
recommending  to  her  the  grace  of  God  as  revealed  in 
the  person  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  the  friend 
readily  engaged  to  do ;  and,  upon  the  husband's 
death,  which  happened  shortly  after,  he  visited  the 
widow,  and  as  long  as  her  grief  lasted,  his  visits  and 
the  truth  he  advanced  were  well  received.  Time 
passed  on,  but  as  the  wound  began  to  heal,  his  visits 
became  more  and  more  irksome  to  the  lady,  until  at 
last  she  told  him  that  unless  he  would  speak  of  some- 
thing more  pleasant,  he  might  as  well  stay  away 
altogether.  Hurt,  but  not  offended,  he  discontinued 
his  visits,  but  not  his  prayers.  After  a  while,  how- 
ever, he  forgot  her  entirely.  Two  years  had  rolled 
by,  when  awaking  suddenly  in  the  night,  he  felt 
unhappy  and  depressed  ;  and  among  other  things,  he 
thought  of  his  friend,  and  then  of  the  wife,  and  with 
much  sorrow  of  heart  he  prayed  the  Lord  that  his  sin 
of  negligence  in  forgetting  to  pray  for  her,  and 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  153 

allowing  himself  to  be  hindered  from  carrying  out 
his  promise,  might  not  be  the  cause  of  a  precious 
soul  being  lost.  He  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and 
though  he  had  eight  miles  to  walk,  by  six  o'clock  he 
was  at  the  chateau  where  the  widow  resided.  He 
rang  the  bell. 

"  Can  I  see  madam  ?" 

The  servant  looked  strangely  at  him  and  went 
away.  In  a  few  moments  she  returned. 

' '  You  can  see  madam ;  she  has  been  longing  to 

o     o 

see  you  ;  she  is  dying  !  " 

He  went  up,  and  to  his  surprise  and  happiness 
found  her  full  of  joy  and  peace  in  believing.  She 
stretched  out  her  hand  to  him  and  said : 

"Ah,  sir!  I  have  found  a  Saviour  just  such  as  I 
need." 

He  begged  her  to  repeat,  if  she  were  able,  the 
circumstances  of  her  conversion.  She  said  she  felt 
able.  The  night  before,  when  she  fell  asleep,  she 
was  much  disturbed,  and  had  the  following  dream  : 

A  carriage,  she  thought,  drove  up  to  the  house ; 
the  footman  jumped  down,  threw  open  the  door,  and 
told  her  that  she  was  invited  to  the  wedding  of  the 
king's  son  ;  but  she  must  be  very  quick  in  dressing, 
as  he  could  not  wait.  She  ran  to  her  wardrobe  to 
find  her  best  dress,  but  when  she  put  it  over  her 
head,  it  fell  around  her  in  dust  and  ashes.  A  second, 
and  a  third  met  the  same  fate.  The  footman  cried 
out:  "Make  haste  or  we  must  go."  Her  servant 
jumped  into  the  carriage,  the  door  slammed,  and  as 
she  heard  the  wheels  roll  away,  she  sank  on  her  bed 


154  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

in  an  agony  of  mortified  shame.  How  long  she  lay 
she  knew  not,  but  she  was  roused  by  a  voice  whis- 
pering in  her  ear :  "There  is  no  robe  that  will  cover 
you  but  the  robe  of  the  righteousness  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

She  awoke  and  found  it  a  dream ;  but  though  the 
vision  was  gone,  the  reality  of  her  solemn  position  as 
having  to  do  with  the  living  God,  was  fully  before 
her.  She  cried  to  him,  and  before  the  day  dawned 
had  found  salvation  through  the  blood  of  a  crucified 
Saviour.  This  was  her  story.  A  few  hours  after 
she  fell  asleep  in  Christ. 

SENATOK  LINN'S  KESCUE. 

Those  who  were  familiar  with  the  political  history 
of  our  country  years  ago,  remember  well  Dr.  Linn, 
of  Missouri.  Distinguished  for  talents  and  profes- 
sional ability,  but  yet  more  for  the  excellence  of  his 
heart,  he  received,  by  a  distinction  as  rare  as  it  was 
honorable,  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  legislature  for 
the  office  of  senator  of  the  United  States. 

In  discharge  of  his  congressional  duties,  he  was 
residing  with  his  family  in  Washington,  during  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1840,  the  last  year  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  administration. 

One  day  during  the  month  of  May  of  that  year, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Linn  received  an  invitation  to  a  large 
and  formal  dinner-party,  given  by  a  public  function- 
ary, and  to  which  the  most  prominent  members  of 
the  administration  party,  including  the  President 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  155 

himself  and  Mr.  Buchanan,  were  invited  guests.  Dr. 
Linn  was  very  anxious  to  be  present ;  but  when  the 
day  came,  finding  himself  suffering  from  an  attack  of 
indigestion,  he  begged  his  wife  to  bear  his  apology 
in  person,  and  make  one  of  the  dinner-party,  leaving 
him  at  home .  To  this  she  somewhat  reluctantly  con- 
sented. She  was  accompanied  to  the  door  of  their 
host  by  a  friend,  General  Jones,  who  promised  to 
return  and  remain  with  Dr.  Linn  during  the  evening. 

At  table  Mrs.  Linn  sat  next  to  General  Macomb, 
who  had  conducted  her  to  dinner ;  and  immediately 
opposite  to  her  sat  Silas  Wright,  senator  from  New 
York,  the  most  intimate  friend  of  her  husband,  and 
a  man  by  whose  death,  shortly  after,  the  country 
sustained  an  irreparable  loss. 

Even  during  the  early  part  of  dinner,  Mrs.  Linn 
felt  very  uneasy  about  her  husband.  She  tried  to 
reason  herself  out  of  this,  as  she  knew  that  his  indis- 
position was  not  at  all  serious  ;  but  in  vain.  She 
mentioned  her  uneasiness  to  General  Macomb ;  but 
he  reminded  her  of  what  she  herself  had  previously 
told  him, — that  General  Jones  had  promised  to  re- 
main with  Dr.  Linn,  and  that,  in  the  very  unlikely 
contingency  of  any  sudden  illness,  he  would  be  sure 
to  apprize  her  of  it.  Notwithstanding  these  repre- 
sentations, as  dinner  drew  toward  a  close  this  unac- 
countable uneasiness  increased  to  such  an  uncon- 
trollable impulse  to  return  home,  that,  as  she  ex- 
pressed it  to  me,  she  felt  that  she  could  not  sit  there 
a  moment  longer.  Her  sudden  pallor  was  noticed 
by  Senator  Wright,  and  excited  his  alarm.  "I  am 


156  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

sure  you  are  ill,  Mrs.  Linn,"  he  said  ;  "what  is  the 
matter?"  She  replied  that  she  was  quite  well,  but 
that  she  must  return  to  her  husband.  Mr.  Wright 
sought,  as  General  Macomb  had  done,  to  calm  her 
fears  ;  but  she' replied  to  him,  "If  you  wish  to  do  me 
a  favor  for  which  I  shall  be  grateful  while  I  live, 
make  some  excuse  to  our  host,  so  that  we  can  leave 
the  table."  Seeing  her  so  greatly  excited,  he  complied 
with  her  request,  and  he  and  Mrs  Wright  accompanied 
Mrs.  Linn  home. 

As  they  were  taking  leave  of  her  at  the  door  of 
her  lodgings,  Senator  Wright  said,  "I  shall  call 
to-morrow  morning,  and  have  a  good  laugh  with  the 
doctor  and  yourself  over  your  panic  apprehensions." 

As  Mrs.  Linn  passed  hastily  up  stairs,  she  met  the 
landlady.  "  How  is  Dr.  Linn  ?"  she  anxiously  asked. 
"Very  well,  I  believe,"  was  the  reply;  "he  took  a 
bath  more  than  an  hour  ago,  and  I  dare  say  is  sound 
asleep  by  this  time.  General  Jones  said  he  was 
doing  extremely  well." 

"The  General  is  with  him,  is  he  not?" 

"I  believe  not.  I  think  I  saw  him  pass  out  about 
half  an  hour  ago." 

In  a  measure  reassured,  Mrs.  Linn  hastened  to  her 
husband's  bed-chamber,  the  door  of  which  was  closed. 
As  she  opened  it  a  dense  smoke  burst  upon  her,  in 
such  stifling  quantity  that  she  staggered  and  fell  on 
the  threshold.  Recovering  herself  after  a  few  seconds, 
she  rushed  into  the  room.  The  bolster  was  on  fire, 
and  the  feathers  burned  with  a  bright  glow  and  a 
suffocating  odor.  She  threw  herself  upon  the  bed ; 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  157 

but  the  fire,  half  smothered  till  that  moment,  was 
fanned  by  the  draught  from  the  opened  door,  and, 
kindling  into  sudden  flame,  caught  her  dress,  which 
was  in  a  blaze  on  the  instant.  At  the  same  moment 
her  eye  fell  on  the  large  bath-tub  that  had  been  used 
by  her  husband.  She  sprang  into  it,  extinguishing 
her  burning  dress ;  then,  returning  to  the  bed,  she 
caught  up  the  pillow  and  a  sheet  that  was  on  fire, 
scorching  her  arms  in  so  doing,  and  plunged  both 
into  the  water.  Finally,  exerting  her  utmost  strength, 
she  drew  from  the  bed  her  insensible  husband.  It 
was  then  only  that  she  called  to  the  people  of  the 
house  for  aid. 

Dr.  Sewell  was  instantly  summoned ;  but  it  was 
full  half  an  hour  before  the  sufferer  gave  any  signs 
whatever  of  returning  animation.  He  did  not  leave 
his  bed  for  nearly  a  week  ;  and  it  was  three  months 
before  he  entirely  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the 
accident. 

"How  fortunate  it  was,"  said  Dr.  Sewell  to  Mrs. 
Linn,  "that  you  arrived  at  the  very  moment  you 
did  !  Five  minutes  more — nay,  three  minutes — and, 
in  all  human  probability,  you  would  never  have  seen 
your  husband  alive  again." 

Mr.  Wright  called,  as  he  promised,  the  next 
morning.  "Well,  Mrs.  Linn,"  said  he,  smiling, 
4 '  you  have  found  out  by  this  time  how  foolish  that 
strange  presentiment  of  yours  was." 

"  Come  up  stairs,"  she  replied.  And  she  led  him 
to  his  friend,  scarcely  yet  able  to  speak ;  and  then 
she  showed  the  remains  of  the  half-consumed  bolster 


158  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

and  partially-burned  bed-linen.  Whether  the  sight 
changed  his  opinion  on  the  subject  of  pesentiments,  I 
cannot  tell;  but  he  turned  pale  as  a  corpse,  and  did 
not  utter  a  word. 

I  had  all  of  4he  above  particulars  from  Mrs.  Linn 
herself,  in  Washington,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1859, 
together  with  the  permission  to  publish  them  in 
illustration  of  the  providence  of  God,  attested  by 
date  and  names. 

.    THE  DYKE-MAN'S  DELIVERANCE. 

Iii  the  Monthly  Reporter  of  the  British  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society,  for  January  1,  1867,  is  an  account 
of  a  tour  in  Germany,  by  the  Society's  Frankfort 
Agent,  Kev.  G.  P.  Davies,  and  of  a  pleasant  after- 
noon he  spent  with  colporteurs  Bocke,  Vosburg,  and 
Miiller,  faithful  laborers  in  the  Bible  cause  :— 

We  were  in  the  large  room  of  an  East  Frisian 
village  Inn,  where  we  had  dined  together.  We  were 
seated  round  the  turf  fire,  which  was  burning  briskly 
on  the  flat,  slated  floor,  under  the  wide,  open  chim- 
ney. All  in-doors  was  in  cheerful  contrast  with  the 
gray  clouds  and  the  cold,  drizzling  rain  which  was 
falling  outside.  The  conversation  turned  now  on 
this  topic,  now  on  that ;  now  on  themes  related  to 
Bible  work — the  old  themes — the  hatred  of  the  un- 
godly, the  indifference  of  the  thoughtless,  the  joy  of 
believers,  the  various  forms  of  encouragement  and 
discouragement.  Then  we  talked  of  the  dangers 
connected  with  the  work  in  its  bearing  on  the  inner 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  159 

life,  such  as  the  danger  of  confounding  being  occu- 
pied about  the  Bible,  with  the  diligent,  personal  use 
of  the  Bible ;  or,  again,  the  temptation  to  which  the 
very  best  colporteurs  are  exposed,  of  sacrificing  time 
which  ought  to  be  spent  in  house-to-house  visitation, 
and  the  diligent  prosecution  of  their  work,  in  inter- 
course, otherwise  profitable,  with  friends  in  whom 
they  find  Christian  brethren.  "Yet,"  said  one, « { Scrip- 
ture alone  is  not  sufficient  for  us ;  it  must  be  read 
with  prayer.  We  must  clothe  ourselves  in  this 
double  armor  if  we  are  to  work  as  we  ought." 

This  allusion  to  prayer  provoked  a  lively  discus- 
sion of  the  question,  How  far  the  believer  may  make 
temporal  good  the  subject  of  prayer  ?  May  we  take 
everything,  our  very  household  cares  and  wants,  to 
the  throne  of  grace  ? 

"  Let  us  look  at  this  matter,"  said  one  of  our  num- 
ber, "in  the  light  of  facts.  I  will  relate  a  case  that 
came  within  the  circle  of  my  personal  knowledge. 

4 *  Here,  in  East  Friesland,  our  country,  like  Holland, 
lies  lower  than  the  sea.  We  therefore  defend  our- 
selves against  the  water  by  high  dykes  along  the 
coast,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  tidal  rivers.  Each 
holder  of  land  is  responsible  for  the  condition  of  a 
certain  amount  of  dyke,  and  has  to  keep  a  dyke-man. 
These  men  live  an  isolated  life  in  small  cottages  close 
to  the  dyke,  and  because  their  time  is  not  wholly 
occupied  with  this  labor,  they  have  always  some 
other  home  occupation,  generally  weaving. 

"My  mother  had  such  a  dyke-man.  He  lived  some 
miles  distant  from  our  house,  and  we  rarely  saw  him. 


160  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

He  was  a  married  man,  and  had  grown-up  children, 
one  of  whom  was  employed  in  my  mother's  service. 

"  One  day  my  mother  was  seized  with  an  unaccount- 
able sort  of  uneasiness.  She  began,  she  knew  not 
why,  to  put  meat,  bread,  and  other  provisions  into  a 
small  bag,  and  when  she  had  done  this  she  returned 
to  her  ordinary  duties. 

"Into  the  dyke-man's  house  sorrow  had  entered. 
He  had  been  ill.  His  earnings  were  spent,  and  they 
had  come  to  their  last  loaf.  On  that  very  day,  to 
add  to  their  distress,  his  married  daughter,  with  her 
infant  child,  came  from  a  long  distance  to  see  them. 
The  dyke-man  and  his  wife  went  to  bed  fasting, 
reserving  the  bread  for  the  mother  and  her  child. 

"The  next  morning  the  dyke-man's  wife  rose  in  a 
wonderfully  cheerful  frame  of  mind.  She  said,  'God 
will  provide  for  us  this  very  day.  I  do  not  know 
how,  but  I  am  sure  he  will.'  Her  faith  was  conta- 
gious. Husband  and  daughter  shook  off  their  gloom, 
and  waited  for  what  should  come.  But  the  morning 

O 

passed,  and  noon  came  and  brought  no  sign  of  help 
and  relief.  The  afternoon  and  night  set  in.  The 
famished  husband  lost  all  hope,  and  spoke  hard 
things  of  her  and  of  God. 

*  *  When  his  day's  work  was  done  the  dyke-man's 
son,  my  mother's  servant,  came  to  her,  and  said  that 
he  had  a  very  strong  desire  to  go  home  and  see  his 
parents.  If  his  mistress  would  allow  it,  by  leaving 
his  father's  cottage  before  daybreak,  he  could  be 
back  in  time  for  his  work  next  morning.  *  In  that 
case,'  said  my  mother,  <you  may  go,  and  as  you  are 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  161 

going  you  may  just  as  well  take  this  bag  with  you,' 
giving  him  the  bag  of  provisions. 

'  *  He  set  off  across  the  heavy  marsh-land  in  the  dark 
night,  cheering  himself  with  the  thought  of  a  few 
pleasant  hours  in  his  father's  cottage.  He  arrived 
and  entered,  but  instead  of  joy  he  found  hunger  and 
tears.  He  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  his  father's 
illness  and  distress.  He  gave  his  mother  the  little 
bag.  She  opened  it :  out  came  bread,  bacon,  cheese, 
and  other  provisions.  They  gazed  at  each  other  in 
amazement.  'Wife,' said  the  dyke-man,  'you  take 
first ;  it  is  you  who  have  gained  us  this.'  She  replied, 
'No;  first  of  all  the  child,  and  then  the  mother.' 
Then  to  the  dyke-man  she  said,  'And  now  you.' 
Then  he  said  again,  '  And  now,  wife,  you.'  But  she 
only  wept,  and  took  nothing,  but  quietly  said, — 
'  I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of.' " 


WESLEY  AND  HIS  PEKSECUTOKS. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Advocate  of  Holiness, 
communicates  an  incident  in  the  life  of  John  Wesley, 
which  had  not  before  appeared  in  print,  and  which 
shows  the  meekness  of  the  man  of  God  under  abuse, 
and  the  retributions  of  providence  upon  his  per- 
secutors : — 

The  circumstance  was  related  by  an  old  man  about 
eighty  years  of  age,  named  Sheerin,  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic, who  lived  near  the  town  of  Boyle,  Ireland,  and 
who  saw  not  only  the  incident,  but  also  the  subse- 
quent end  of  the  family.  In  course  of  conversation 


162  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

about  how  some  families  melt  and  die  out,  he  said, 
"I  remember  a  circumstance  that  occurred  when  I 
was  a  very  young  man.  I  was  on  a  holiday  after 
coming  out  from  mass  in  the  chapel  of  Boyle.  It 
was  customary  then,  as  it  is  now,  to  stand  in  Bridge 
street  and  have  a  chat  with  the  neighbors.  At  this 
place  there  was  a  hotel,  owned  by  one  of  the  richest 
men  in  the  town  ;  he  had  two  tanneries,  several  large 
farms,  well  stocked,  together  with  other  property. 
I  saw  one  John  Wesley,  a  very  nice  old  man,  with 
long  white  hair ;  when  he  came  forward  to  the  part  of 
the  street  where  the  crowd  was,  he  got  up  on  a  stone 
outside  of  the  hotel  door,  that  was  used  for  a  seat, 
and  commenced  preaching  to  the  people.  In  a  few 
minutes  after  he  commenced,  some  of  the  family 
went  up  stairs  and  procured  a  chamber  vessel  and 
emptied  the  contents  out  of  a  window  down  on  his 
head.  He  seemed  to  take  no  notice  of  what  was 
done,  further  than  taking  out  his  handkerchief,  and 
wiping  his  head  and  face. 

4  *  When  the  people  saw  what  was  done,  and  that  he 
took  it  so  patiently,  they  said  it  was  a  shame ;  and 
from  that  forward,  they  listened  to  him  very  atten- 
tively during  the  remainder  of  his  sermon.  When 
he  had  ended  his  discourse,  he  turned,  and  looking 
at  the  house,  said,  '  God  forgive  you,  and  I  forgive 
you ;  but  I  am  not  sent  of  God  if  that  family  comes 
to  a  good  end.' "  The  old  man  said  the  prediction 
proved  true.  In  twelve  months  after,  one  of  the 
sons  was  either  hanged,  or  hanged  himself;  another 
came  to  a  violent  death ;  and  the  daughter  became  a 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  163 

castaway ;  the  father  and  mother  were  reduced  to 
extreme  want,  and  not  a  trace  of  the  family  was  to  be 
found  in  about  five  years'  time.  This  occurred,  I 
should  judge  from  the  old  man's  statement,  between 
the  years  1780  and  1790. 


A  MEMOEY  OP  WYOMING. 

The  beautiful  valley  of  Wyoming,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Susquehanna  river,  in  Luzerne  Co.,  Penn.,  has 
long  been  known  alike  to  the  student  of  history  and 
the  lovers  of  poetry  and  song. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Van  Doren  records,  in  The  Evangelist, 
an  incident  which  recalls  the  calamities  that  over- 
whelmed Wyoming,  and  illustrates  the  gracious  care 
of  an  ever-present  God,  for  those  who  trust  in  him. 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  July,  1778,  that  an 
aged  saint,  who  with  his  four  sons,  lived  on  a  moun- 
tain overlooking  the  valley,  found  that  his  barrel  of 
meal  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  bade  his  sons  fill 
their  sacks  with  grain,  and  early  in  the  morning  de- 
scend the  long  road  to  the  mill  in  the  valley.  As 
requested,  before  daylight  each  of  the  boys  had  fed 
his  horse,  and  they  were  all  prepared  by  sunrise  for 
their  journey.  And  as  the  day  would  be  too  far 
spent  to  have  their  grain  ground,  they  were  accus- 
tomed at  such  times  to  spend  the  night  near  the  mill 
in  Wyoming. 

As  the  patriarch  came  forth  in  the  morning  from 
the  closet  of  prayer,  and  said  to  the  waiting  sons, 
*  *  Not  to-day ! "  the  young  men  were  greatly  surprised. 


164  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

"But,  father,  our  supply  is  used  up,  and  why  shall 
we  delay?"  they  said,  as  they  turned  and  gazed  over 
the  valley  which  lay  in  calm  and  quiet  peacefulness 
before  them. 

"Not  to-day,  my  sons,"  repeated  with  emphasis 
by  the  man  of  prayer,  satisfied  the  youths  that  the 
father  meant  what  he  said.  He  added,  "I  know 
not  what  it  means,  but  in  my  prayer  my  mind  was 
deeply  impressed  with  this  word,  « Let  them  abide 
till  the  morrow.'" 

Without  charging  their  venerated  parent  with  su- 
perstition or  ignorance,  the  obedient  sons  yielded  to 
his  word,  unladed  their  beasts,  placed  them  in  their 
stalls,  and  waited  for  another  morning  to  come. 

That  memorable  night  a  horde  of  savages,  with 
torch  and  tomahawk,  entered  Wyoming  Valley,  and 
commenced  their  work  of  destruction,  and  it  is  said 
that  before  the  bloody  drama  ended,  not  a  house, 
barn,  church,  school,  or  mill,  escaped  the  flames  ;  and 
few  of  the  inhabitants  escaped  the  sudden  but  deadly 
blows  of  the  savages.  From  one  end  of  the  valley  to 
the  other  the  settlers  were  butchered  or  burned  with 
remorseless  fury. 

In  the  morning  at  sunrise,  the  father  and  sons  were 
standing  on  the  highest  point,  and  lo  !  the  valley  was 
filled  with  volumes  of  ascending  smoke  and  flames. 
The  awful  truth  flashed  on  their  minds.  The  aged 
saint  kneeled  down  with  his  sons  on  the  mountain- 
top,  and  in  humble,  adoring  prayer  thanked  God  for 
the  promise,  "  The  angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth 
round  about  them  that  fear  him." 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  165 

It  was  said  of  children,  "Their  angels  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
What  are  all  the  mailed  troops,  all  the  harnessed  war- 
riors surrounding  the  steps  of  royalty,  compared  with 
this  celestial  life-guard  of  the  saints  ?  A  grand  truth, 
a  glorious  promise,  that  the  humblest,  most  despised, 
unknown  believer  has  a  nobler  life-guard  than  the 
proudest  monarch  that  ever  filled  a  throne  on  earth. 
Great  honor  have  they  who  fear  thy  name,  O  God  ! 
Saints  are  kings,  but  kings  in  exile ;  and  while  they 
wander  in  the  desert,  their  God  is  near,  and  his  angels 
will  protect  and  defend  his  feeble,  waiting  flock,  and 
bring  them  to  their  rest  at  last. 

DE.  BOND'S  VISION. 

Among  the  consequences  resulting  from  the  pre- 
dicted outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  last  days, 
it  was  declared  that '  'your  young  men  shall  SEE  VISIONS 
and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams."  And  though 
this  scripture  seems  almost  abandoned  to  the  mercy 
of  enthusiasts  and  fanatics,  yet  the  numerous  "  visions 
and  revelations  of  the  Lord  "  recorded  in  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament,  as  well  as  in  the  annals  of  the 
church  of  Christ  in  all  ages,  afford  sufficient  and  con- 
vincing evidence  that  this  word  of  the  Lord  was 
never  spoken  in  vain,  but  has  received,  and  may  be 
yet  receiving,  an  abundant  fulfillment ;  and  that,  not 
among  the  fanatical  and  extravagant  and  half-crazed 
followers  of  new  notions  and  strange  doctrines,  but 
among  those  whose  piety,  sobriety,  intelligence,  and 


166  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

usefulness ,  mark  them  as  chosen  vessels  to  bear  the 
words  of  Christ  to  the  perishing  sons  of  men. 

In  an  obituary  notice  of  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond, 
which  was  published,  shortly  after  his  death,  in  the 
columns  of  The  Christian  Advocate,  of  which  he 
had  been  for  several  years  the  editor,  there  was 
recorded  the  following  remarkable  vision  in  the  early 
history  of  this  celebrated  itinerant  preacher.  The 
writer  mentions  it  as,  "A  very  extraordinary  incident 
in  the  life  of  Dr.  Bond,  which  we  narrate  with  great 
doubt  as  to  the  propriety  of  its  publication.  He  very 
rarely  mentioned  it,  and  never  ventured  to  designate 
or  explain  it.  Its  truth  is,  however,  beyond  question. 
The  circumstances  forbid  the  supposition  of  optical 
illusion  or  temporary  hallucination.  There  are  those 
living  who  testify  to  such  of  the  facts  as  were  sub- 
ject to  observation,  and  the  memorials  of  the  trans- 
action are  yet  distinctly  preserved  in  the  religious 
character  of  sons  and  daughters  of  some  who  were 
immediately  affected  by  it. 

* 'Being  on  a  visit  to  his  father,  he  was  deeply 
grieved  to  find  the  church,  which  he  had  left  in  a 
state  of  prosperous  activity,  languishing,  lukewarm, 
and  weak.  His  thoughts  were  much  occupied  with 
the  subject,  and,  of  course,  it  was  the  matter  of  earn- 
est and  frequent  prayer.  In  this  state  of  mind,  one 
morning,  he  was  walking  over  the  fields  to  a  neigh- 
boring house,  when  suddenly  he  seemed  to  be  in  a 
room  where  a  number  of  people  were  assembled, 
apparently  for  worship.  The  room  he  recognized 
as  an  apartment  in  the  house  of  a  neighbor,  where  a 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  167 

prayer-meeting  was  to  be  held  on  the  evening  of 
that  day.  Had  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  it  he  could 
not  have  been  more  conscious  of  the  scene.  There 
was  nothing  of  the  dim,  or  shadowy,  or  dreamy, 
about  it.  He  recognized  the  people,  noticed  where 
they  sat  and  stood,  remarked  his  father  near  the 
table,  at  which  a  preacher  was  rising  to  give  out  a 
hymn,  and  near  the  middle  of  the  congregation  he 
saw  a  man  named  C.,  for  whose  salvation  he  felt  par- 
ticular anxiety,  standing  with  his  son  beside  him. 
"While  gazing  w^ith  astonishment  upon  the  scene,  he 
heard  the  words,  '  Go  and  tell  C.  that  he  has  an 
offer  of  salvation  for  the  last  time.' 

"Naturally  supposing  that  the  too  great  concen- 
tration of  mind  upon  one  subject  had  induced  some 
hallucination  of  the  senses,  Mr.  Bond  fell  down  on 
his  knees  and  besought  God  to  preserve  his  reason. 
The  scene,  however,  continued  ;  it  would  not  disap- 
pear, nor  change  in  any  of  its  particulars.  In  vain 
he  struggled  to  dispel  it ;  the  voice  yet  repeated  with 
indubitable  distinctness,  'Go  and  tell  C.  that  he  has 
an  offer  of  salvation  for  the  last  time.'  Yet  how 
would  he  dare  to  deliver  so  awful  a  message  !  For  a 
great  length  of  time  he  struggled  for  deliverance 
from  what  he  still  considered  an  illusion.  At  length 
an  expedient  occurred  to  him  which  he  adopted.  He 
had  never  been  in  the  room  in  which  he  was  appar- 
ently present,  when  it  was  used  for  a  religious 
meeting.  He,  of  course,  did  not  know  how  it  was 
commonly  prepared  for  such  occasions.  He  therefore 
noted  with  great  care  the  particulars  of  the  scene. 


168  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

He  saw  where  the  little  table  for  the  preacher,  the 
benches  and  chairs  for  the  people,  were  placed.  He 
noticed  his  acquaintances,  and  where  they  sat  and 
stood,  and  when  he  was  satisfied  that  he  had  possessed 
himself  perfectly  of  these  details,  he  said,  '  I  will  go 
to  this  meeting,  and  if  I  see  things  there  to  correspond 
with  what  I  now  see,  it  shall  be  as  a  sign  from  the 
Lord,  and  I  will  deliver  the  message.'  Immediately 
the  scene  vanished,  and  he  was  alone  in  the  green  fields. 
* '  With  a  spirit  indescribably  agitated  he  returned 
home,  where  he  found  ladies  who  required  him  to 
escort  them  a  long  distance,  and  it  was  somewhat 
past  the  hour  fixed  for  the  meeting  when  he  reached 
the  awful  place.  During  the  day  he  had  freely  in- 
dulged the  hope  that  on  his  entrance  into  the  room 
his  trouble  would  disappear.  He  thought  he  had 
been  the  subject  of  an  illusion,  the  fruit  of  an  excited 
brain,  and  that  a  want  of  correspondence  immediately 
to  be  detected  between  the  real  scene  and  the  one 
presented  to  his  disordered  fancy,  would  at  once 
satisfy  him  as  to  the  morbid  character  of  his  morning 
vision,  and  release  him  from  the  obligation  of  deliv- 
ering the  terrible  message  with  which  he  was  condi- 
tionally charged.  When  he  opened  the  door,  however, 
he  saw  again,  in  all  its  minuteness  of  detail,  the 
morning  scene.  In  vain  he  searched  the  room  for  a 
variant  particular.  There  sat  his  father  in  the  desig- 
nated place.  The  preacher  at  the  table  was  rising  to 
give  out  the  hymn.  In  the  midst  of  the  room  stood 
C.,  with  his  son  beside  him.  Everything  demanded 
that  the  message  should  be  delivered. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  169 

4 'After  the  preliminary  exercises,  he  rose  and 
stated  the  circumstances  as  we  have  related  them, 
and  then  going  to  C.,  he  laid  his  hand  upon  him,  and 
repeated  the  words  he  had  heard.  The  effect  was 
indescribable.  C.  and  his  son  fell  down  together  and 
called  upon  God.  An  awful  solemnity  rested  upon 
all  present.  Many  cried  for  mercy,  and  from  that 
time  began  a  revival  of  religion  which  spread  far  and 
wide ;  the  fruits  of  which  are  yet  seen,  after  many 
days. 

"In  the  midst  of  this  extraordinary  scene,  the 
father  of  Dr.  Bond,  who  was  too  deaf  to  hear  his 
words,  sat  an  axious  observer.  He  was  a  calm  man, 
whose  Quaker  education  had  not  lost  its  influence 
over  his  religious  character  and  views.  After  the 
meeting  he  asked  Thomas  what  he  had  said  to  produce 
such  an  effect.  He  frankly  told  him  all.  The  old 
man  mused  awhile  and  said,  'You  did  right.' 

' '  About  this  incident  there  will  be  different  opin- 
ions. We  shall  not  express  any.  The  principal 
actor  preferred  to  express  none.  We  only  state  the 
facts  as  related  by  himself,  and  confirmed,  without 
inquiry,  since  his  death,  by  one  who  was  present  at 
the  extraordinary  meeting.  We  think  however,  with 
his  father,  that  he  *  did  right.'  To  have  done  other- 
wise would  at  least  have  been  unreasonable,  perhaps 
impious.  Philosophy  must  leave  room  for  God  in 
his  own  world.  Incredulity  and  superstition  are 
equally  dishonorable  to  the  understanding.  In  all 
cases  right  reason  determines  by  evidence." 

While  infidelity  has  been  struggling  for  years  to 


170  THE   GUIDING    HAND. 

mock  each  trace  of  supernatural  power  away  from 
the  church  of  God,  and,  taking  advantage  of  the 
unbelieving  cowardice  of  formalists  and  skeptics,  has 
caused  Christians  to  hide  the  knowledge  of  such  facts 
as  this  in  their' own  hearts;  and  while  fanatics  have 
brought  God's  work  into  disrepute  by  extravagant 
pretensions  and  unfounded  claims  ;  and  while  Satan, 
having  driven  the  church  to  cringing  silence,  and  the 
world  to  blind  and  unreasoning  incredulity  regarding 
all  supernatural  powers  and  spiritual  blessings,  has 
taken  advantage  of  this  state  of  things  to  pour  upon 
an  unreasonable  multitude  the  signs  and  lying  won- 
ders wrought  by  seducing  spirits,  whose  aim  and 
purpose  is  to  deceive  if  it  were  possible  the  very 
elect,  and  persuade  the  people  that  there  is  no  divine 
power  but  that  which  comes  through  their  profane 
witchcrafts  and  devilish  incantations, — we  rejoice 
that  God  gives  grace  to  lift  up  a  standard  for  the 
people  in  the  midst  of  a  flood  of  scoffing  unbelief, 
and  testify  and  prove  by  credible  witnesses  and  by 
numerous  facts  the  presence  and  the  might  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  the  church,  yet  working  by  mighty 
signs  and  wonders  to  convict  the  sinner,  to  comfort 
the  saint,  to  save  the  perishing,  and  to  glorify  the 
Lord.  And  we  are  glad  that  from  day  to  day  fresh  evi- 
dences and  facts  are  brought  to  our  knowledge,  which 
show  that  there  is  yet  a  God  in  Israel  whose  might 
and  power  are  manifested  in  the  experiences  of  his 
humble,  trusting  ones  ;  and  that  the  Lord's  arm  is 
not  shortened  that  he  cannot  save,  nor  his  ear  heavy 
that  he  cannot  hear.  But  while  we  recognize  these 


THE  GUIDING  HAND.  171 

facts,  we  also  see  in  the  wreck  and  ruin  that  has 
marked  the  paths  of  those  whose  pretensions  to  spir- 
itual gifts  and  powers  have  been  loud  and  boastful,  a 
most  solemn  warning  to  the  humble  children  of  the 
Lord  to  "believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the 
spirits  whether  they  are  of  God,  because  many  false 
prophets  have  gone  out  into  the  world." 

The  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  seems  to  be 
marshaling  his  unclean  legions  for  the  final  fray  ;  and 
if  he  can  persuade  men  to  accept  all  spiritual  preten- 
sions, and  so  receive  the  "strong  delusions"  and 
"lying  wonders"  of  the  devil,  or  else  discard  all 
supernatural  experiences,  and  so  reject  the  mighty 
working  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; — in  either  case  he  suc- 
ceeds in  his  purpose  of  deception  and  destruction. 
But  if  any  man  do  God's  will  "  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine,"  and  a  loving  obedience  and  strict  adher- 
ence to  the  written  word  of  God,  with  a  proper 
apprehension  of  the  character  of  the  '  *  perilous 
times "  in  which  we  live  in  these  last  days,  will 
prove  a  safeguard  against  fanaticism  on  the  one  hand 
and  formality  on  the  other,  and  thus  "  the  shield  of 
faith"  shall  "quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
adversary." 

THE  CIKCLE  OF  FIEE. 

The  following  thrilling  tale,  related  by  Dr.  Guthrie, 
the  eloquent  Scottish  preacher  and  writer,  illustrates 
the  power  of  prayer  and  the  guidance  of  Providence 
in  a  most  noticeable  degree.  May  it  teach  us  to  give 


172  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

heed  to  the  counsel  of  the  still  small  voice,  remem- 
bering that  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
they  are  the  sons  of  God ;  and  that  though  we  may 
not  fully  know  the  errand  upon  which  God  would 
send  us,  yet  if  we  seek  to  know  and  do  his  will,  he 
will  guide  us  by  his  eye,  and  direct  our  steps  aright. 

"I  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  a  decent  widow,  as 
paralysis  made  it  impossible  for  her  to  attend  church. 
She  was  tended  by  a  very  dutiful  daughter,  who, 
working  at  a  flax-mill  in  the  neighborhood,  toiled 
hard,  and  contented  herself  with  plain  dress  and  sim- 
ple fare,  that  she  might  help  to  maintain  her  mother. 
Before  leaving  the  cottage  for  her  work,  she  was  in 
the  habit  of  heaping  up  the  refuse  of  the  mill  in  the 
grate  and  kindling  it.  She  placed  her  helpless  mother 
in  a  chair  right  before  the  fire,  and  as  this  fuel  burned 
slowly  away  the  old  woman  was  kept  comfortable  till 
her  return. 

"  It  happened  one  day  that  I  left  my  manse,  and 
skirting  the  walls  of  the  old  church-yard,  and  passing 
the  corn-mill,  with  its  busy  sound  and  flashing  wheel, 
I  took  my  way  down  the  winding  dell  to  the  cottage 
of  the  old  woman,  which  stood  in  its  garden,  embow- 
ered among  trees.  But,  having  met  a  parishioner, 
with  whom  I  had  some  subject  of  interest  to  talk 
about,  I  made  a  halt ;  and  sitting  down  on  a  bank 
of  thyme,  we  entered  into  conversation.  Ere  the 
subject  was  half  exhausted,  the  widow  rose  to  my 
recollection.  I  felt  somehow  that  I  must  cut  it  short, 
and  hasten  away  on  my  visit.  But  the  idea  was  dis- 
missed, and  the  conversation  went  on.  However,  it 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  173 

occurred  again  and  again,  till,  with  a  feeling  that  I 
was  neglecting  a  call  of  duty,  as  by  an  uncontrollable 
impulse  I  rose  to  my  feet,  and  made  haste  to  the 
cottage.  Opening  the  door,  a  sight  met  my  eyes 
that  for  the  moment  nailed  me  to  the  spot. 

*  *  The  erection  of  mill-refuse  which  had  been  built 
from  the  hearth  some  feet  up  the  open,  wide  chim- 
ney, having  its  foundations  eaten  away,  had  fallen, 
and  precipitating  itself  forward,  surrounded  the  help- 
less paralytic  within  a  circle  of  fire.  The  accident 
took  place  some  minutes  before  I  entered.  She  had 
cried  out,  but  no  ear  was  there  to  hear,  nor  hand  to 
help.  Catching  the  loose  refuse  about  her,  on  and 
on,  nearer  and  nearer,  the  flames  crept.  It  was  a 
terrible  sight  for  the  two  Wigtown  women — martyrs, 
staked  far  out  in  the  sands  of  Sol  way  Frith,  to  mark 
the  sea-foam  crawl  nearer  and  nearer  them ;  it  was 
more  terrible  still  for  this  poor  woman  in  her  lone 
cottage,  without  any  great  cause  to  die  for,  to  sit 
there  and  see  the  fire  creeping  closer,  drawing  nearer 
and  nearer  to  her  feet.  By  the  time  I  had  entered, 
it  had  almost  reached  her,  where  she  sat  motionless, 
speechless,  pale  as  death,  looking  down  on  the  fire  as 
it  was  about  to  seize  her  clothes  and  burn  her  to  a 
cinder.  Ere  it  caught  I  had  time,  and  no  more,  to 
make  one  bound  from  the  door  to  the  hearth-stone, 
and  seizing  her  chair  and  all,  in  my  arms,  to  pluck 
her  from  the  jaws  of  a  cruel,  fiery  death. 

"By  what  law  of  nature,  when  I  lingered  on  the 
road,  was  I  moved,  without  the  remotest  idea  of  her 
danger,  to  cut  short,  against  all  my  inclinations,  an 


174  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

interesting  conversation,  and  hurry  on  to  the  house, 
which  I  reached  just  in  the  nick  of  time  ? — one  or  two 
minutes  later,  the  flames  had  caught  her  clothes,  and 
I  had  found  her  in  a  blaze  of  fire.  Be  it  mine  to  live 
and  die  in  the  belief  of  a  present  and  presiding,  as 
well  as  a  personal  God ;  in  the  faith  which  inspired 
my  aged  friend  to  thank  Him  for  her  wonderful  de- 
liverance, and  the  boy  to  explain  his  calm  courage 
on  the  roaring  deep,  in  these  grand  but  simple  words  : 
'My  Father  is  at  the  helm.'" 


PEAYEE  FOE  A  CANDLE. 

There  was,  not  long  ago,  a  poor  widow,  who  tried 
hard  to  provide  for  her  family  by  her  work.  She 
was  a  pious  woman,  and  had  taught  her  children  to 
look  to  their  heavenly  Father  as  their  ever-living 
Friend,  who  sent  them  day  by  day  their  daily  bread. 
One  morning,  however,  her  faith  was  sorely  tried. 
There  was  only  enough  food  for  one  meal.  She  gave 
her  children  their  breakfast,  and  said  sadly,  as  she 
sent  them  to  school,  " There,  now  you  have  had  all 
I  can  give  you,  and  I  don't  know  where  you  will  get 
your  dinner  from." 

Her  little  boy,  a  child  of  ten  years  old,  looked 
earnestly  in  his  mother's  face,  and  said,  ''Mother, 
are  you  tired  of  trusting  God  ?"  The  poor  widow 
was  quite  overcome  :  her  child's  gentle  reproof  went 
to  her  heart.  She  had  taught  him  to  believe  in  his 
heavenly  Father's  care,  and  now  he  was  teaching  her. 

She  said  nothing,  but  as  soon  as  her  children  had 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  175 

left  the  house,  she  went  to  her  bedroom,  and  there 
asked  forgiveness  for  the  faithless  thought.  Not 
long  after,  a  lady  entered  the  house.  She  had  no 
idea  of  the  circumstances  of  the  family,  but,  unknown 
to  herself,  she  was  the  means  employed  by  God  to 
answer  the  widow's  prayer,  and  to  show  her  the  truth 
of  that  promise,  "  While  they  are  yet  speaking,  I 
will  hear."  She  had  brought  some  work  to  be  done, 
and  laid  down  the  money,  beforehand,  saying  she 
thought  they  might  find  it  useful  to  have  it  at  once. 
When  the  children  returned  from  school,  a  comfort- 
able dinner  was  ready  for  them,  and  from  that  day 
they  never  wanted. 

And  art  thou  tired,  poor  weary  one,  cumbered  with 
many  cares,  art  thou  tired  of  trusting  God?  "Cast 
not  away  thy  confidence,  which  hath  great  recom- 
pense of  reward."  Hear  another  instance  of  God's 
answer  to  prayer  : — 

There  was  a  poor  old  woman  who  earned  a  scanty 
living  by  selling  rags.  She  was  strictly  honest,  and 
used  to  put  by  her  pence  for  the  rent  before  taking 
any  for  her  own  use.  She  became  known  to  a  lady 
who  was  kind  to  her,  and  often  sent  her  a  little  help. 
This  lady  went  out  for  some  time,  and,  on  the  even- 
ing of  her  return,  she  was  kneeling  down  to  thank 
God  for  his  preserving  care,  and  was  asking  him  to 
show  her  what  she  could  do  to  prove  her  love,  when 
suddenly  it  seemed  as  if  she  heard  a  voice  saying, 
"Go  at  once,  and  take  poor  Sarah  a  pound  of  can- 
dles." 

The  lady  did  not  go  at  first, — she  thought  it  was  so 


176  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

strange  to  take  candles  ;  would  not  a  pound  of  meat 
or  butter  be  better  ?  But  the  call  seemed  so  clear, 
that  she  put  a  few  things  into  her  basket  with  the 
candles,  and  went  at  once  to  the  poor  attic  where 
Sarah  lived.  '  It  was  so  dark  that  nothing  could  be 
clearly  seen.  The  old  woman  was  just  rising  from 
her  knees,  and  was  astonished  to  find  the  lady  there. 
"What  can  have  brought  you  here,  ma'am,  at  this 
time?"  said  Sarah.  "First,"  said  the  lady,  "tell  me 
what  you  were  praying  for."  "Why,  ma'am,  you 
will  think  it  very  odd,  but  I  was  asking  God  to  send 
me  a  candle,  for  my  neighbor  has  lent  me  a  large  print 
Bible,  just  what  I  wanted  so  much,  and  I  cannot  see 
to  read  it  without  a  light ;  so  I  thought  it  must  be 
according  to  God's  will  that  I  should  be  able  to  read 
his  holy  Book." 

Tears  came  into  the  lady's  eyes,  for  she  felt  that 
her  heavenly  Father  had  indeed  condescended  to  use 
her  as  his  messenger,  and  she  held  the  packet  of  can- 
dles to  Sarah,  saying,  "God  has  sent  them  to  you." 

The  old  woman  wept  too,  and  both  united  in  won- 
der and  thankfulness  to  Him  who  delights  to  do  for 
his  dependent,  praying  children,  "exceeding  abun- 
dantly above  all  that  we  ask  or  think." 

You  may  not  have  what  you  ask  for,  but  it  will 
strengthen  you  under  your  disappointment,  to  know 
that  it  was  God's  will  to  refuse  your  request,  and  that 
he  did  so  because,  seeing  the  future,  he  intended  to 
give  you  a  higher  blessing  than  the  one  you  would 
have  asked  for  yourself.  Your  child  cries  when  you 
take  a  dangerous  plaything  from  his  hand,  or  deny 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  177 

him  some  unsuitable  pleasure,  but  he  will  thank  you 
when  he  is  older  for  this  proof  of  your  love. 

And  we  are  only  children  here.  We  must  pray 
for  faith  to  be  enabled  sincerely  to  ask,  "Thy  will, 
not  mine,  be  done;"  and  when  we,  too,  are  grown 
older,  and  have  entered  into  our  heavenly  home,  that 
"purchased  possession"  for  those  who  belong  to 
Christ,  purchased  for  us  by  a  Saviour's  blood,  then 
shall  we  be  able  to  look  back  to  life's  teachings, 
whether  of  joy  or  sorrow,  and  to  say  from  the  full- 
ness of  our  hearts,  "He  hath  done  all  things  well." 
Therefore,  "Be  careful  for  nothing,  but  in  everything, 
by  prayer  and  supplication,  with  thanksgiving,  let 
your  requests  be  made  knoAvn  unto  God." 


FLEMING'S  PROPHETIC  WARNING. 

"The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy  ;" 
and,  as  "prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will 
of  man ;  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  so  throughout  all  ages 
the  history  of  the  church  bears  witness,  that  among 
those  who  have  faithfully  borne  "the  testimony  of 
Jesus"  to  mankind,  there  have  been  men  of  sound 
judgment,  sobriety,  piety ,  and  spiritual  understanding, 
who  at  various  times  have  testified  to  the  impelling 
power  of  the  prophetic  spirit  which  has  caused  them 
to  speak  with  a  might  and  a  wisdom  and  a  foreknowl- 
edge not  their  own  ;  and  whose  words  thus  spoken 
have  been  made  to  stand  firm  against  all  the  craft  and 

O 

scoffing  of  the  ungodly,  as  a  demonstration  of  the 


178  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

wisdom  and  the  power  of  that  Spirit  which  "search- 
eth  all  things,  even  the  deep  things  of  God,"  and 
takes  the  things  of  God,  and  shows  them  to  his  peo- 
ple. 

An  eminent  -example  of  this  may  be  found  in  the 
history  of  Robert  Fleming,  who  was  born  at  Tester, 
Scotland,  in  1630  ;  educated  at  the  university  of  Edin- 
burgh and  St.  Andre ws,  under  the  care  of  the  godly 
Rutherford ;  called  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  to  min- 
ister to  the  church  at  Cambuslang ;  ejected  from  his 
charge,  with  nearly  four  hundred  other  ministers,  by 
the  "Glasgow  Act  "under  King  Charles  II.  ;  driven 
to  wander  as  a  fugitive  before  his  foes  ;  imprisoned, 
released,  guided  at  last  to  Holland,  and  called,  after 
the  death  of  Mr.  Brown,  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the 
Scotch  church  at  Rotterdam,  where  he  settled  in  1677, 
and  fulfilled  a  faithful  and  successful  ministry,  beloved 
by  his  flock  and  honored  by  his  heavenly  Master. 

The  records  of  his  history  represent  him  as  emi- 
nent in  the  ministry  of  the  word  of  God,  a  Boanerges 
and  a  Barnabas  combined,  whose  labors  were  owned 
of  the  Lord  to  the  salvation  of  many.  His  charitable 
disposition  caused  him  to  view  with  regret  the  strifes 
and  bickerings  of  Christians,  saying,  "I  am  amazed 
to  see  good  men  thus  tear  one  another  in  the  dark ;" 
and  remarking  again,  "I  bless  God,  in  fifteen  years 
I  have  not  given  any  man's  credit  a  thrust  behind  his 
back ;  but  when  I  had  grounds  to  speak  well  of  any 
man,  I  have  done  so  with  faithfulness,  and  when  I 
wanted  a  subject  that  way  I  kept  silence." 

The  life  of  Fleming  was  emphatically  a  life  of  trust, 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  179 

and  in  all  his  persecutions  his  table  was  spread,  even 
in  the  presence  of  his  enemies  ;  his  cup  was  filled,  and 
his  head  anointed  with  oil ;  and  he  was  ready  to  dis- 
tribute, willing  to  communicate,  rich  in  good  works  ; 
and,  for  the  rest,  his  treasures  were  laid  up  in  heaven. 

His  well-known  work  on  "The  Fulfilling  of  the 
Scripture,"  his  "Treatise  concerning  the  way  of  the 
Holy  Ghost's  working  on  the  souls  of  men,  especially 
after  conversion,  in  communion  between  God  and 
them,"  and  another  in  manuscript  entitled,  "A  short 
Index  of  some  of  the  great  appearances  of  the  Lord 
in  the  dispensation  of  his  providence  to  his  poor  ser- 
vants," etc. ,  which  recorded  many  particular  instances 
of  the  Lord's  providential  dealings  with  him,  during 
his  life,  serve  to  show  something  of  the  current  of  his 
thoughts,  and  give  some  tokens  of  his  deep  and  rich 
experience  in  the  things  of  God.  The  following 
instance  of  his  utterance  of  a  prophetic  warning  and 
its  awful  fulfillment,  is  well  authenticated  by  writers 
of  reputation  and  veracity  : 

One  day,  as  he  was  preaching  to  his  congregation 
at  Rotterdam)  he  observed  three  young  men  among 
the  audience,  whose  behavior  was  in  the  highest  degree 
indecorous.  The  minister,  observing  that  the  conduct 
was  continued,  reproved  them  therefor,  and  desired 
that  in  an  assembly  gathered  for  such  a  purpose,  they 
should  at  least  maintain  a  decent  demeanor.  This 
gentle  admonition  seemed  rather  to  increase  than 
abate  their  misbehavior  ;  and  they  continued  peeling 
oranges,  cracking  nuts,  and  distorting  their  faces  at 
the  minister.  Fleming  was  hence  compelled  a  second 


180  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

time  to  admonish  them;  at  which  they  appeared 
still  more  enraged  than  before,  persisting  in  their 
conduct,  and  manifestly  becoming  more  callous  and 
incorrigible. 

The  worthy  minister  seemed  so  impressed  and 
shocked  at  their  hardened  behavior,  that  in  the  midst 
of  the  discourse  he  made  a  solemn  pause,  and  an 
awful  one  too — * 'prophetic  of  their  end."  He  turned, 
and  looked  them  full  in  the  face  for  some  time,  appar- 
ently with  much  internal  agitation.  At  length  he 
addressed  them  in  the  following  words,  and  in  a  most 
impressive  manner  and  tone  :  "My  young  friends,  I 
am  sorry  to  be  the  bearer  of  such  a  dreadfully  alarming 
message  to  you,  and  I  have  begged  the  Lord  to  excuse 
me  from  it,  but  he  will  not ;  therefore  I  must  not 
shrink  from  the  painful  duty  of  declaring  the  awful 
and  confirmed  impression  on  my  mind.  I  now  tell 
you  that  you  have  not  a  week  longer  to  live  in  this 
world." 

This  dreadful  sentence,  proceeding  from  a  man, 
somewhat  excited  the  doubtful  apprehensions  of  the 
congregation,  who  thought  it  was  the  ebullition  of 
precipitancy  and  rashness  ;  and  some  of  his  intimate 
friends  were  of  opinion  that  religion  would  suffer 
scorn  and  reproach  for  it,  especially  if  the  prediction 
should  not  be  verified.  The  minister  added,  ''Let 
the  event  prove  the  truth  of  it ;  for  I  am  persuaded 
I  was  moved  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  say  and  affirm 
what  I  did,  as  prophetic  of  their  end." 

Monday  passed,  and  nothing  occurred  ;  but  on  Tues- 
day one  of  the  young  men  went  on  board  a  vessel  to 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  181 

prosecute  an  intended  voyage,  which  was  fixed  pre- 
vious to  this  affair;  and,  in  consequence  of  a  violent 
storm  that  arose,  the  ship  was  driven  on  shore,  and 
this  unhappy  youth  perished  in  the  tempest. 

On  Wednesday  another  of  the  young  men  was  con- 
cerned in  a  quarrel  with  some  person,  the  issue  of 
which  was  fighting  a  duel,  with  swords,  wherein  this 
wretched  victim  fell. 

On  Thursday  the  only  surviving  one  was  suddenly 
taken  ill,  at  which  he  began  to  be  terrified,  as  two  of 
his  sinful  companions  were  already  cut  off.  He  then 
was  desirous  to  send  for  the  same  minister  whom  he 
had  ridiculed.  When  Mr.  Fleming  arrived  at  his 
house,  he  asked  the  young  man  what  he  wanted  him 
for.  The  youth  begged  he  would  pray  for  him  ;  when 
the  minister  requested  to  know  what  he  would  want 
him  to  pray  for.  The  supplicant  replied,  "For  my 
life."  "That  is  not  in  my  power  to  do,"  rejoined  the 
minister,  "for  I  am  sure  you  will  die."  "Then," 
said  the  youth,  "beg,  or  pray,  for  the  life  of  my  soul, 
if  you  please."  Fleming  so  far  consented  as  to  kneel 
down  by  the  bed-side,  in  which  posture  he  remained 
for  a  considerable  time  ;  but  at  length  he  arose,  with- 
out having  uttered  a  word.  He  then  addressed  the 
young  man,  saying  that  he  found  his  lips  so  closed 
that  he  could  not  utter  a  syllable  on  his  behalf.  He 
accordingly  took  his  leave  ;  and  soon  afterward,  this 
last  remaining  of  the  three  scoffers  died  in  horror  and 
despair,  accomplishing  the  prediction  of  the  minister, 
and  confirming  tho  declaration  of  Holy  Writ,  "He 
that  being  often  reproved  hardeneth  his  neck,  shall 


182  THE  GUIDING  HAND. 

suddenly  be  destroyed,  and  that  without  remedy." 
The  scoffer  may  mock  at  this  narration,  as  did  these 
young  men  at  the  message  of  the  man  of  God ;  and 
the  formal  Pharisee,  who  prays  by  rote  for  one  thing 
as  weir  as  another,  may  doubt  and  cavil  at  such  facts 
as  these ;  but  the  man  of  God  who,  praying  always 
in  the  Holy  Ghost,  finds  himself  helped  by  that 
Spirit  which  maketh  intercession  with  groanings  which 
cannot  be  uttered,  will  recognize  the  fact  which  his 
own  experience  has  already  shown,  that  there  are 
things  for  which  no  spiritual  Christian  can  pray,  and 
times  when  supplication  is  forbidden.  Alas  for  those 
concerning  whom  God  speaks  to  his  servants  as  he 
spoke  to  the  weeping  Jeremiah  of  old,  saying,  "Pray 
not  thou  for  this  people,  neither  lift  up  cry  nor  prayer 
for  them,  neither  make  intercession  to  me,  for  I  WILL 
NOT  HEAR  THEE."  Jer.  vii.  16.  Happy  are  they  in 
whose  behalf  "the  effectual,  fervent  prayer  of  a  right- 
eous man"  still  "availeth  much." 

Many  remarkable  prophecies  and  providences  are 
recorded  in  connection  with  the  name  of  Robert 
Fleming.  "At  one  time,"  his  biographer  relates, 
while  journeying  in  England,  "he  fell  under  the  York 
coach,  the  great  wheel  of  which  passed  over  his  left 
leg,  but  with  so  gentle  a  pressure,  that  the  limb 
remained  unbroken  and  unhurt.  This  we  shall  find 
a  truly  wonderful  escape,  if  we  take  into  account  the 
lumbering  weight  of  the  stage-coaches  of  that  period, 
and  the  slowness  of  their  motion." 

In  the  summer  of  1694,  during  a  visit  to  London, 
Fleming  fell  sick  with  his  last  illness.  The  Lord  led 


THE   GUIDIXG  HAND.  183 

him  gently  down  the  dark  valley,  and  comforted  him 
with  his  rod  and  staff.  At  the  commencement  of 
the  disease,  which  was  a  fever,  he  said  to  those  around 
him,  "Oh,  friends,  sickness  and  death  are  serious 
things  !"  Still,  however,  he  did  not  believe  that  his 
end  was  near,  but  thought  he  should  recover ;  and  he 
observed  to  a  relative,  that  if  he  was  appointed  to  die 
of  this  disease  it  would  be  strange,  as  the  Lord  did 
not  use  to  hide  from  him  the  things  that  He  did  with 
him  and  his.  But  the  rapid  progress  of  the  fever  soon 
abated  his  confidence.  To  a  friend  who  visited  him, 
he  said,  "What  freedom  do  you  find  in  prayer  for  me  ? 
Seems  God  to  beckon  to  your  petitions  ? — or  does  he 
bind  you  up  and  leave  dark  impressions  on  your  mind  ? 
In  this  manner  I  have  often  known  the  way  of  the 
Lord."  The  other  replied  that  he  was  in  darkness 
about  the  matter.  "Well,"  said  the  sufferer,  skilled 
to  interpret  the  slightest  intimations  of  the  divine 
Spirit,  "I  know  your  mind  ;  trouble  not  yourself  for 
me  ;  I  think  I  may  say  that  I  have  been  long  above 
the  fear  of  death."  His  pains  increased,  but  amidst 
his  groans  and  struggles,  the  tranquility  of  his  soul 
seemed  to  be  untouched ;  and  to  every  question  of 
his  anxious  friends,  his  answer  was,  "I  am  very  well ;" 
or,  "I  was  never  better;"  or,  "I  feel  no  sickness." 
When  at  length  he  was  so  exhausted  as  to  be  unable 
to  speak,  and  was  unfit  for  his  wonted  prayer  and 
meditation,  he  said  to  those  who  were  beside  him,  "I 
have  not  been  able,  in  a  manner,  to  form  one  serious 
thought,  since  I  was  sick,  or  apply  myself  unto  God  : 
he  has  applied  himself  unto  me ;  and  one  of  his 


184  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

manifestations  was  such,  as  I  could  have  borne  no 
more."  Two  of  his  sons  attended  his  death-bed,  one 
of  whom  said  to  him , '  'Do  you  know  me  ?"  With  an 
affectionate  smile  he  replied,  "Yes,  yes,  dear  son,  I 
know  you."  About  an  hour  after,  he  earnestly 
exclaimed,  "Help,  help,  for  the  Lord's  sake  !" — and 
with  a  few  faint  breathings  expired.  This  was  on  the 
25th  of  July,  and  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age, 
after  a  short  illness  of  eight  days. 

Of  his  two  sons,  Robert  rose  to  eminence,  succeed- 
ing his  father  at  Kotterdam,  whence  he  was  recalled 
to  his  native  land  by  the  invitation  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  at  Lothbury,  seconded  by  the  personal 
request  of  King  William,  who  highly  prized  his  coun- 
sels. He  is  known  as  the  author  of  a  treatise  on 
"The  Fall  of  the  Papacy,"  which  attracted  attention 
and  was  republished  in  connection  with  the  political 
convulsions  of  1848.  He  was  an  honored  son  of  a 
godly  sire,  an  instance  of  the  Lord's  mercy  to  the 
third  generation  of  them  that  fear  him, — his  grand- 
father, James  Fleming,  having  been  an  eminent  Scot- 
tish minister,  whose  first  wife,  (not  the  mother  of 
Robert,)  was  the  daughter  of  John  Knox,  "who  never 
feared  the  face  of  man,"  and  whose  prayers  were  more 
dreadful  to  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  than  an  army  of 
ten  thousand  men. 

Surely  * '  the  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that 
fear  him,"  "  and  his  righteousness  unto  children's 
children."  "  Blessed  are  all  they  that  put  their  trust 
in  him."  Ps.  xxv.  14;  ciii.  17 ;  ii.  12. 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  i85 

DIVINE  EETEIBUTION. 

A  young  farmer,  who  lived  at  Belton,  near  Ep worth, 
in  Lincolnshire,  about  the  year  1720,  being  at  break- 
fast in  his  house,  started  up,  and  cried,  "I  must  go 
into  the  barn  !"  One  asked  him,  "For  what?"  He 
said,  "I  cannot  tell;"  and  ran  away  with  his  knife  in 
his  hand.  The  first  thing  he  saw,  when  he  came  into 
it,  was  his  father,  who  had  just  hanged  himself  on 
one  of  the  beams.  He  immediately  cut  him  down, 
took  him  in  his  arms,  brought  him  into  the  house, 
and  laid  him  on  a  bed.  It  was  not  long  before  he 
came  to  himself.  He  then  looked  upon  his  son,  and 
said,  "Now  God  requited  me  !  Three  and  twenty 
years  ago  I  cut  down  my  own  father,  who  had  hanged 
himself  on  that  very  beam  !" 


EICHAED  BOAEDMAFS  DELIVEEANCE. 

"I  preached,  "said  Richard  Boardman,  a  celebrated 
Methodist  preacher  who  died  in  1782,  "one  evening 
at  Mould,  in  Flintshire,  and  next  morning  set  out  for 
Parkgate.  After  riding  some  miles,  I  asked  a  man 
if  I  was  on  the  road  to  that  place.  He  answered, 
'Yes  ;  but  you  will  have  some  sands  to  go  over,  and 
unless  you  ride  fast  you  will  be  in  danger  of  being 
enclosed  by  the  tide/  It  then  began  to  snow  to  such 
a  degree  that  I  could  scarcely  see  a  step  of  my  way, 
and  my  mare  being  with  foal  prevented  me  from  rid- 
ing as  fast  as  I  otherwise  should  have  done.  I  got  to 


186  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

the  sands,  and  pursued  my  journey  over  them  some 
time,  but  the  tide  then  came  in  and  surrounded  me 
on  every  side,  so  that  I  could  neither  proceed  or  turn 
back,  and  to  ascend  the  perpendicular  rocks  was 
impossible.  In  this  situation  I  commended  my  soul 
to  God,  not  having  the  least  expectation  of  escaping 
death.  In  a  little  time  I  perceived  two  men  run- 
ning down  a  hill  on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  and  by 
some  means  they  got  a  boat  and  came  to  my  relief, 
just  as  the  sea  had  reached  my  knees  as  I  sat  on  my 
saddle.  They  took  me  into  the  boat,  the  mare  swim- 
ming by  our  side  till  we  reached  the  land. 

"While  we  were  in  the  boat  one  of  the  men  said, 
4 Surely,  sir,  God  is  with  you/  I  answered,  'I  trust 
he  is.'  The  man  replied,  'I  know  he  is  ;'  and  then 
related  the  following  circumstance  :  'Last  night  I 
dreamed  that  I  must  go  to  the  top  of  such  a  hill. 
When  I  awoke  the  dream  made  such  an  impression 
on  my  mind  that  I  could  not  rest ;  I  therefore  went 
and  called  upon  this  man  to  accompany  me.  When 
we  came  to  the  place  we  saw  nothing  more  than  usual . 
However,  I  begged  him  to  go  with  me  to  another  hill 
at  a  small  distance,  and  there  we  saw  your  distressed 
situation.' 

"When  we  got  ashore  I  went  with  my  two  friends 
to  a  public  house  not  far  distant  from  where  we  landed, 
and,  as  we  were  relating  the  wonderful  providence, 
the  landlord  said,  'This  day  month  we  saw  a  gentle- 
man just  in  your  situation,  but  before  we  could  hasten 
to  his  relief  he  plunged  into  the  sea,  supposing,  as 
we  concluded,  that  his  horse  would  swim  to  the  shore ; 


THE  GUIDING  HAND.  187 

but  they  both  sunk,  and  were  drowned  together.' 
"I  gave  my  deliverers  all  the  money  I  had,  which 
I  think  was  about  eighteen  pence,  and  tarried  all 
night  at  the  hotel.  Next  morning  I  was  not  a  little 
embarrassed  how  to  pay  my  reckoning,  for  the  want 
of  cash,  and  begged  that  the  landlord  would  keep  a 
pair  of  silver  spurs  till  I  should  redeem  them ;  but 
he  answered,  'The  Lord  bless  you,  sir,  I  would  not 
take  a  farthing  from  you  for  the  world.'  After  some 
serious  conversation  with  the  friendly  people,  I  bade 
them  farewell,  and  recommenced  my  journey,  rejoic- 
ing in  the  Lord,  and  praising  him  for  his  great  salva- 
tion." 


PKESENTIMENTS. 

In  endeavoring  to  define  this  strange  instinct,  im- 
pulse, or  whatever  it  may  be  called,  says  a  writer  in 
the  Evangelical  Messenger,  opinions  have  had,  and  still 
have  a  wide  range  of  difference  ;  and  in  attempting  to 
account  for  it,  there  seems  to  be  no  greater  concord 
of  views. 

Some  suppose  it  to  be  an  impulse  from  God  who 
sees  the  end  from  the  beginning ;  others  find  a  solu- 
tion in  the  mission  of  guardian  angels ;  others,  still, 
think  that  it  is  a  natural  gift  with  some,  in  which  they 
excel  their  fellows  as  others  do  in  reference  to  other 
endowments ;  while  those ,  usually  nowadays  re- 
garded as  a  little  superstitious,  account  for  it  on  the 
ground  of  a  "lucky  birthday,"  or  having  been  born  in 
some  particular  phase  of  the  moon.  Of  all  we  have 


188  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

ever  read  or  heard  on  the  subject,  we  cannot  say  that 
anything  like  a  satisfactory  solution  has  ever  come  to 
our  knowledge.  The  case  of  St.  Paul  on  his  perilous 
voyage,  does  not  seem  to  serve  as  such.  It  is  not 
given  as  a  presentiment  by  the  historian,  but  as  the 
real  appearance  of  "the  angel  of  God,"  standing  by 
him  and  talking  to  him. 

Several  facts,  moreover,  are  noticeable,  which  are 
equally  difficult  of  solution.  Sometimes  the  presen- 
timent contemplates  the  safety,  instruction,  etc.,  of 
the  one  who  experiences  it,  while  in  other  instances 
that  of  others  alone  is  contemplated. 

And  again,  one  may,  through  this  impression,  either 
from  personal  experience  or  through  the  medium  of 
another,  save  his  own  life,  while  a  number  of  others 
in  the  same  peril  apprehend  no  danger  till  the  fatal 
moment  sweeps  them  away. 

Such  are  some  of  the  facts.  A  solution  will  not 
be  attempted.  But  here  are  some  instances  : — 

A  gentleman  with  whom  we  are  well  acquainted, 
purchased  a  ticket  for  a  point  on  the  railroad  fifty 
miles  distant.  The  train  arrived  on  time.  He  entered 
a  coach,  and  was  sitting  with  a  paper  in  his  hand  read- 
ing, when  the  bell  sounded  the  signal — "all  aboard." 
The  sound  to  him  was  that  of  a  funeral  bell  tolling 
the  death  of  a  friend,  and  involuntarily  he  arose  and 
left  the  coach  as  the  train  moved  off.  In  two  hours 
the  intelligence  came  to  him  that  the  train  had  met 
with  a  frightful  accident,  and  the  coach  in  which  he 
had  been  sitting  was  buried  under  the  general  ruin, 
with  no  prospect  of  any  one  escaping  alive  from  it. 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  189 

Another  man  in  Iowa,  after  dinner  left  his  family 
for  the  harvest-field,  passing  by  a  fountain  or  spring, 
and  filling  his  jug  with  fresh  water.  He  had  just 
commenced  his  labors  when  he  suddenly  dropped  all, 
and  said  he  must  go  home ;  and  in  doing  so,  passing 
by  the  spring  again  he  was  just  in  time  to  save  the 
life  of  his  darling  and  only  child  which  had  followed 
him  at  a  distance,  and  in  endeavoring  to  "see  the 
baby"  in  the  water,  had  fallen  into  it. 

The  following  instances  are  recorded  in  Shuber's 
Mirror  of  Nature : — 

"A  gentleman,  an  acquaintance  of  the  celebrated 
French  authoress,  Mme.  Beaumont,  was  about  mak- 
ing a  pleasure  trip  on  the  river  with  some  of  his 
friends.  Everything  was  ready,  and  he  was  just 
entering  the  boat,  when  his  sister,  a  deaf  mute,  came 
suddenly  and  most  anxiously  running  along,  and  seiz- 
ing her  brother's  arm  and  coat,  tried  to  keep  him 
back  ;  but  finding  this  unavailable,  she  threw  herself 
at  his  feet,  and  taking  hold  of  his  knees,  expressed, 
by  the  most  imploring  gestures,  her  wish  that  he 
should  desist  from  going  on  the  water.  Touched  by 
the  painful,  entreating  expression  in  the  face  and  pos- 
ture of  the  deaf  mute,  several  persons  joined  in  the 
prayers  of  the  poor  unfortunate  girl,  and  her  brother 
finally  yielded  to  their  wishes.  It  was  fortunate  for 
him  he  did  so,  for  the  boat  had  gone  but  a  short  dis- 
tance on  the  water,  when  a  sudden  gust  of  wind  cap- 
sized it.  Several  of  the  company  found  a  watery 
grave,  and  he,  who  could  not  even  swim,  would  no 
doubt  have  shared  the  same  fate,  if  his  sister,  by  some 


190  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

divine   premonition    had    not  prevented    his    going. 

"Once,  on  an  evening,  a  rich  and  benign  farmex* 
felt,  by  some  secret  impulse,  impelled  to  send  some 
articles  of  food  to  a  poor  family  in  the  neighborhood, 
at  a  late  hour. .  'Wherefore  so  late ;  cannot  this  be 
done  as  well  to-morrow?'  said  those  around  him. 
'No,'  replied  he,  'it  must  be  done  now.'  While  insist- 
ing, the  worthy  farmer  did  not  know  what  a  blessing 
his  benevolent  action  was,  just  then,  to  the  tenant  of 
the  poor  hut,  for  there  the  father,  who  had  to  nour- 
ish and  sustain  the  family,  had  fallen  sick  ;  the  mother 
was  infirm  already,  and  the  children  had  been  crying 
for  more  than  two  days — the  youngest  of  whom  was 
nearly  dead  from  hunger.  Thus  the  most  pressing 
wants  were  at  once  removed,  and  perhaps  some  lives 
saved. 

"Another  gentleman,  living  near  some  coal  miners 
in  Silesia,  awoke  one  night  from  his  sleep  with  an 
irresistible  impression  to  go  down  in  his  garden.  He 
arose,  went  down;  the  impulse  led  him  out  of  the 
back  gate  of  his  garden  into  the  fields,  where  he 
arrived  just  in  time  to  save  the  life  of  a  miner,  who, 
in  climbing  up  a  ladder,  missed  his  footing  and  fell 
down  the  shaft  into  a  coal-tub,  which  his  son  was  at 
that  moment  winding  up,  but  by  the  increased  weight 
was  unable  to  do  so  now  alone. 

"A  venerable  clergyman  in  England  once  felt,  like- 
wise, an  unexpected  desire  to  pay,  late  at  night,  a 
visit  to  a  friend  of  his,  whom  he  knew  to  be  of  a  very 
melancholy  turn  of  mind.  Though  extremely  wearied 
by  the  cares  and  labors  of  the  day,  the  venerable 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  191 

gentleman  could  not  resist  his  secret  impulse.  So 
he  went,  and,  strange  to  say,  arrived  just  in  time  to 
prevent  his  friend  from  taking  his  own  life.  The 
nightly  visit  and  friendly  exhortations  had  such  a 
wholesome  effect  on  the  depressed  spirits  of  his  friend, 
that  he  never  again  attempted  to  commit  suicide. 

"Professor  Buchner,  of  Marburg,  being  once  in 
very  pleasant  company,  felt  a  strong  desire  to  go 
home  and  remove  his  bed  from  its  old  place  to  another 
corner  of  his  bedroom.  He  yielded  to  the  impulse. 
Having  done  so,  he  felt  again  at  ease,  and  went  back 
to  his  friends.  During  the  night  a  large  portion  of 
the  ceiling  in  the  room,  just  where  the  bed  formerly 
stood,  crumbled  down,  and  would  no  doubt  have 
crushed  him  to  death,  had  the  bed  not  been  removed." 

THOMAS  HOWNHAM. 

The  subject  of  the  following  providence  was  a  very 
poor  man,  who  lived  in  a  lone  house  or  hut  upon  a 
moor,  called  Barmour-moor,  about  a  mile  from  Low- 
ick,  and  two  miles  from  Doddington,  in  the  county 
of  Northumberland.  He  had  no  means  to  support  a 
wife  and  two  young  children  save  the  scanty  earnings 
obtained  by  keeping  an  ass,  on  which  he  used  to  carry 
coals  from  Barmour  coal-hill  to  Doddington  and 
Wooler ;  or  by  making  brooms  of  the  heath,  and  sell- 
ing them  around  the  country.  Yet  poor  and  despised 
as  he  was,  in  consequence  of  his  poverty,  in  my  forty 
years'  acquaintance  with  the  professing  world  I  have 
scarce  met  with  his  equal  as  a  man  that  lived  near  to 


192  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

God,  or  one  who  was  favored  with  more  evident 
answers  to  prayer.  My  parents  then  living  at  a  vil- 
lage called  Hanging-Hall,  about  one  mile  and  a  half 
from  his  hut,  I  had  frequent  interviews  with  him,  in 
one  of  which  he  was  very  solicitous  to  know  whether 
my  father  or  mother  had  sent  him  any  unexpected 
relief  the  night  before.  I  answered  him  in  the  nega- 
tive, so  far  as  I  knew,  at  which  he  seemed  to  be  uneasy. 
I  then  pressed  him  to  know  what  relief  he  had  found  ; 
and  how.  After  requesting  secrecy,  unless  I  should 
hear  of  it  from  some  other  quarter,  and  if  so,  he  begged 
I  would  acquaint  him,  he  proceeded  to  inform  me,  that 
being  disappointed  of  receiving  money  for  his  coals 
the  day  before,  he  returned  home  in  the  evening,  and 
to  his  pain  and  distress,  found  that  there  was  neither 
bread,  nor  meal,  nor  anything  to  supply  their  place, 
in  his  house ;  that  his  wife  wept  sore  for  the  poor 
children,  who  were  both  crying  until  they  fell  asleep  ; 
that  he  got  them  to  bed,  and  their  mother  with  them, 
who  likewise  soon  went  to  sleep,  being  worn  out  with 
the  sufferings  of  the  children,  and  her  own  tender 
feelings. 

Being  a  fine  moonlight  night,  he  went  out  of  the 
house  to  a  retired  spot  at  a  little  distance,  to  meditate 
on  those  remarkable  expressions  in  Heb.  iii.  17 — 19. 
Here  he  continued,  as  he  thought,  about  an  hour  and 
a  half ;  found  great  liberty  and  enlargement  in  prayer, 
and  got  such  a  heart-loathing  and  soul-humbling  sight 
of  himself,  and  such  interesting  views  of  the  grace  of 
God,  and  the  love  of  his  adorable  Saviour,  that  though 
he  went  on  purpose  to  spread  his  family  and  temporal 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  193 

wants  before  the  Lord,  yet  having  obtained  a  heart- 
attracting  and  soul-captivating  view  of  him  by  faith, 
he  was  so  enamored  with  his  beauty,  and  so  anxious 
to  have  his  heart  entirely  under  his  forming  hand, 
that  all  thought  about  temporals  was  taken  away. 

In  a  sweet,  serene,  and  composed  frame  of  mind,  he 
returned  to  his  house  ;  when,  by  the  light  of  the  moon 
through  the  window,  he  perceived  something  upon  a 
stool  or  form  (for  chairs  they  had  none)  before  the 
bed,  and,  after  viewing  it  with  astonishment,  and  feel- 
ing it,  he  found  it  to  be  a  joint  of  meat  roasted,  and 
a  loaf  of  bread,  about  the  size  of  our  half-peck  loaves. 
He  then  went  to  the  door  to  look  if  he  could  see  any 
body;  and  after  using  his  voice,  as  well  as  his  eyes, 
and  neither  perceiving  nor  hearing  any  one,  he  re- 
turned in,  awoke  his  wife,  who  was  still  asleep,  asked 
a  blessing,  and  then  awoke  the  children,  and  gave 
them  a  comfortable  repast ;  but  could  give  me  no  fur- 
ther account.  I  related  this  extraordinary  affair  to 
my  father  and  mother,  who  both  heard  it  with  aston- 
ishment but  ordered  me  to  keep  it  a  secret  as  re- 
quested ;  and  such  it  would  ever  have  remained,  but 
for  the  following  reason  : 

A  short  time  after  this  event  I  left  the  country ; 
but  on  a  visit,  about  twelve  years  after,  at  a  friend's 
the  conversation  one  evening  took  a  turn  about  one 
Mr.  Stangeways,  commonly  called  Stranguage,  a 
farmer,  who  lived  at  Lowick-High steed,  which  people 
named  "Pinch-me-near,"  on  account  of  this  miserly 
wretch  that  dwelt  there.  I  asked  what  had  become 
of  his  property,  as  I  apprehended  that  he  had  never 
7 


194  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

done  one  generous  action  in  his  lifetime.  An  elderly 
woman  in  the  company  said  I  was  mistaken ;  for  she 
could  relate  one,  which  was  somewhat  curious.  She 
said  that  she  had  lived  with  him  as  servant  or  house- 
keeper ;  that  about  twelve  or  thirteen  years  ago,  one 
Thursday  morning,  he  ordered  her  to  have  a  whole 
joint  of  meat  roasted,  having  given  her  directions,  a 
day  or  two  before,  to  bake  two  large  loaves  of  white 
bread.  He  then  went  to  Wooler  market,  taking  a 
bit  of  bread  and  cheese  in  his  pocket,  as  usual.  He 
came  home  in  the  evening  in  a  very  bad  humor,  and 
went  soon  to  bed.  In  about  two  hours  he  called  up 
his  man-servant,  and  ordered  him  to  take  one  of  the 
loaves  and  the  joint  of  meat,  and  carry  them  down 
the  moor  to  Thomas  Hownham's  and  leave  them  there. 
The  man  did  so,  and  finding  the  family  asleep,  he  set 
them  at  their  bedside,  and  came  away. 

The  next  morning  her  master  called  her  and  the 
man-servant  in,  and  seemed  in  great  agitation  of  mind. 
He  told  them  that  he  intended  to  have  invited  a  Mr. 
John  Mool,  with  two  or  three  more  neighboring  far- 
mers who  were  always  teasing  him  for  his  meanness, 
to  sup  with  him  the  night  before  ;  that  he  would  not 
invite  them  in  the  market-place,  as  he  proposed  to 
have  taken  them  by  surprise  near  home,  as  two  or 
three  of  them  passed  his  house,  but  a  smart  shower  of 
rain  coming  on,  they  rode  off,  and  left  him  before  he 
could  get  an  opportunity ;  that  going  soon  to  bed  he 
did  not  rest  well,  fell  a-dreaming,  and  thought  he 
saw  Hownham's  wife  and  children  starving ;  that  he 
awoke  and  put  off  the  impression ;  that  he  dreamed 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  195 

the  second  time,  and  endeavored  again  to  shake  it  off, 
but  that  he  was  altogether  overcome  with  the  non- 
sense the  third  time ;  that  he  believed  the  devil  was 
in  him,  but  that  since  he  was  so  foolish  as  to  send  the 
meat  and  bread,  he  could  not  now  help  it,  and  charged 
her  and  the  man  never  to  speak  of  it,  or  he  would 
turn  them  away  directly.  She  added  that  since  he 
was  dead  long  ago,  she  might  relate  it,  as  a  proof  that 
he  had  done  one  generous  action,  though  he  was  grieved 
for  it  afterwards.  This  is  the  fact ;  let  those  that  read 
make  their  own  reflections. 

The  above  striking  narrative  is  well  authenticated, 
and  was  published  in  the  Connecticut  Magazine  for 
April,  1812.  It  illustrates  how  easy  it  is  for  Him 
who  feedeth  the  ravens,  to  care  for  all  the  needs  of 
his  people  even  in  the  most  mysterious  ways. 


CAPTAIN  BEITWELL'S  DEEAM. 

Captain  Abner  Britwell,  an  old  "down-east " sailor, 
thus  relates  how  life  and  his  ship  were  saved  on  one 
occasion,  by  a  miracle  of  Providence  : 

"My  employers  gave  me  a  ship,  and  I  made  two 
successful  voyages  in  her.  The  third  voyage  was  to 
go  to  the  Pacific.  I  had  a  new  crew,  and  after  we 
had  doubled  Cape  Horn,  I  began  to  fear  that  a  mutiny 
was  on  foot.  It  was  not  long  before  I  became  con- 
vinced that  such  was  not  only  the  fact,  but  that  I  had 
some  desperate  men  on  board.  I  had  watched  until 
I  had  become  assured  that  the  most  diabolical  plot 
was  on  foot,  but  I  knew  not  where  to  place  my  hand. 


196  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

"  One  night,  while  we  were  off  the  Chilian  coast, 
I  dreamed  that  I  was  keeping  my  mate's  watch,  and 
that  I  had  crawled  into  the  long-boat  to  get  out  of 
the  way  of  the  rain.  While  there,  I  thought  three  of 
my  men  came  and  sat  down  close  by  me,  and  com- 
menced to  converse  upon  the  subject  of  murdering 
their  officers,  and  taking  the  ship.  The  names  of 
these  three  were  Brant,  Cummings,  and  McDermot. 
They  were  ill-visaged  fellows,  and  I  had  suspected 
them  from  the  start.  I  could  hear  every  word  they 
spoke,  and  my  heart  beat  painfully  as  they  laid  bare, 
step  by  step,  the  plan  they  had  concocted.  They 
were  the  leaders,  and  were  to  have  the  offices  when 
the  ship  was  theirs.  On  the  third  night  the  blow 
was  to  be  struck.  We,  in  the  cabin,  were  to  be  cut 
down  first,  and  then  four  of  the  men,  whom  they 
dare  not  trust,  were  to  follow. 

"I  started  up  from  my  sleep.  My  heart  was 
beating  quickly,  and  a  cold  sweat  was  upon  my  brow. 
The  dream  still  sounded  in  my  ears,  and  it  was  some 
moments  ere  I  could  realize  that  I  was  in  my  own 
bunk.  When  I  had  fairly  collected  my  thoughts,  I 
turned  out,  and  went  on  deck,  and  by  a  sort  of 
instinctive  impulse  I  walked  forward.  It  was  an 
hour  past  midnight,  and  the  moon  was  just  rising. 
I  saw  three  men  sitting  upon  the  heel  of  a  spar  top- 
mast— exactly  where  I  had  seen  these  three  men 
sitting  in  my  dream — and  as  I  came  near  I  heard  the 
words, — 

'  <  *  Hush  !  here  comes  one  of  'em  ! '  spoken  by  one 
of  the  number,  and  then  they  started  up,  and  went 


THE  GUIDING  HAND.  197 

to  the  forecastle.  I  saw  who  they  were — Brant, 
Cummings,  and  McDermot — the  trio  of  my  dream  ! 

"On  the  following  morning,  I  felt  so  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  my  dream,  that  I  resolved  to 
act  upon  it.  I  told  the  officers  that  I  suspected  the 
source  and  direction  of  the  mutiny,  but  I  would  not 
tell  them  how  I  gained  the  knowledge.  Those  of 
the  men  whom  I  knew  I  could  trust  were  called  upon 
to  help  me. 

66  After  dinner  I  stationed  two  of  my  officers  at  a 
convenient  point  in  the  cabin,  armed  with  cords  and 
canvas  bags.  Then  I  sent  my  boy  on  deck  to  tell 
Brant  that  I  wished  to  see  him.  He  came  down,  and 
as  his  foot  touched  the  cabin  floor,  a  bag  was  thrown 
over  his  head,  and  he  was  thrown  down  and  gagged 
with  little  trouble.  As  soon  as  he  was  hauled  out  of 
the  way,  I  sent  up  for  Cummings.  He  came,  and 
was  treated  in  like  manner,  though  we  had  to 
administer  a  light  tap  on  the  head  before  we  could 
overcome  him. 

"I  sent  for  McDermot  next,  and  when  he  had 
been  secured,  the  rest  was  easy  enough.  We  armed 
ourselves  and  went  on  deck.  The  crew  were  called 
aft,  and  I  told  them  of  the  plot  I  had  discovered.  I 
did  not  tell  them  that  thus  far  I  had  only  dreamed 
the  particulars,  but  I  professed  to  have  certain  infor- 
mation. When  they  found  that  the  ringleaders  were 
captured  and  bound,  they  begged  for  mercy,  and 
offered  to  make  a  full  confession,  and  behave  them- 
selves in  the  future.  I  trusted  them,  and  they 
revealed  to  me  the  whole  plot,  as  the  leaders  had  laid 


198  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

it  out.  It  was  exactly — word  for  word,  and  deed 
for  deed — as  /  had  dreamed  it.  Three  days  after- 
ward we  reached  Valparaiso,  and  the  three  mutineers 
were  disposed  of  without  much  trouble." 


BEGGING  BBEAD. 

"  David  said,  '  I  have  been  young  and  now  am  old ; 
yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his 
seed  begging  bread.'  Well,  David  did  not  see  what 
I  am  seeing,"  said  Mrs.  H.  to  her  sick  daughter, 
somewhat  bitterly,  as  she  adjusted  her  bonnet  and 
shawl  to  go  out  upon  the  street. 

It  was  a  sunny  morning  in  the  autumn  of  1856, 
when  this  shadow  of  distrust  and  want  fell  upon  the 
heart  and  home  of  Mrs.  H.,  who  then  resided  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts. 

She  had  been  a  widow  for  ten  years,  and  was  well 
advanced  in  life  when  her  husband  died.  He  had 
been  for  years  a  minister  of  Christ's  gospel,  and, 
without  stated  charge  or  salary,  had  been  active  in 
his  Master's  cause,  until  death  had  called  him  from 
labor  to  repose,  leaving  his  wife,  as  so  many  minis- 
ters' wives  have  been  left,  without  property  or  earthly 
resources.  She  had  depended  upon  the  exertions  of 
her  daughter,  and  this  daughter,  although  in  delicate 
health,  had  for  six  years  cheerfully  plied  the  needle 
for  their  support  in  their  pleasant,  but  humble  home, 
until  she  was  prostrated  by  sickness  ;  not  a  sickness 
of  a  few  weeks'  continuance,  but  of  months  and  years, 
during  which  she  was  unable  to  do  anything.  But 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  199 

through  all  these  months  and  years  Mrs.  H.  had 
found  her  God  a  covenant-keeping  God.  He  had 
watched  over  her,  had  sent  her  daily  bread;  but 
now  she  was  brought  into  a  great  strait.  Her  means 
were  exhausted,  the  last  piece  of  bread  was  eaten  ;  it 
was  late  in  autumn,  and  a  long  winter  with  sickness 
and  privation  seemed  to  be  staring  her  in  the  face ; 
and  the  enemy  of  souls  had  so  taken  advantage  of 
these  circumstances  and  presented  such  powerful 
temptations  to  her  mind,  that  she  was  not  aware  how 
she  was  questioning  the  care  of  her  heavenly  Father, 
and  had  for  a  moment  lost  sight  of  the  promise  that 
her  bread  should  be  given  her,  and  her  water  should 
be  sure. 

Looking  carefully  about  her  room  to  see  if  any 
portion  of  her  morning's  work  had  escaped  her  notice 
— for  her  household  motto  had  ever  been,  "  If  poor, 
always  tidy" — and  all  things  being  in  order,  the 
furniture  dusted,  the  stove  polished,  the  window- 
curtains  raised  to  admit  the  sunbeams  that  slanted 
through  the  branches  of  the  large  cotton-wood  tree 
growing  in  the  adjoining  yard,  and  casting  flickering 
shadows  upon  the  rag  carpet  which  her  diligent  hands 
had  made, — her  sick  daughter,  the  only  member  of 
her  family,  being  made  comfortable  for  the  short  time 
she  expected  to  be  absent, — she  yet  paused  a  little, 
turned  to  glance  at  the  clock  which  stood  upon  the 
mantel, — "  Half  past  eleven,"  said  she,  "  and  nothing 
for  dinner;"  and  then  turning  from  the  clock  she 
gave  a  long,  lingering  look  at  an  old-fashioned  profile 
which  hung  beside  it,  and  musingly  said : 


200  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

"Just  as  constant  as  the  ticking  of  that  clock, 
were  his  labors  in  his  Master's  vineyard ;  just  as 
faithfully  as  that  tells  the  hour,  did  he  lift  his  voice 
in  his  Master's  cause." 

Mrs.  II .  leaned  against  the  mantel  as  if  absorbed 
in  thought.  Her  tall,  commanding  form  was  yet 
unbowed  by  age  ;  and  though  more  than  sixty  years 
had  robbed  her  fair  face  of  its  youthful  beauty,  yet 
they  had  not  quenched  the  light  of  life  and  hope 
which  glowed  upon  her  countenance.  But  her  face 
now  grew  sad  as  she  recalled  the  by-gone  years,  the 
home  of  plenty  which  she  had  left  to  share  the  toils 
and  struggles  of  him  whose  features  were  outlined 
before  her ;  and  the  thought  of  the  present  needs  of 
herself  and  her  sick  daughter  conspired  with  the 
remembrances  of  the  past,  to  cast  a  trace  of  sadness 
over  a  face  that  had  often  shed  sunshine  on  many  a 
troubled  soul. 

"I  think,"  said  she  at  last,  rousing  herself  from 

her  reverie,  "I  will  go  to  Mrs.  B and  ask  her  for 

a  piece  of  bread  for  our  dinner ;  I  have  no  other  wny 
to  get  it ;  and  she  has  often  told  me  to  call  upon  her 
if  I  should  be  troubled.  A  new  business  indeed  for 
me  !"  and  the  saddened  look  grew  deeper. 

"My  father,"  she  continued,  "was  a  righteous 
man,  and  was  called  by  those  who  had  no  religion, 
'St.  Paul;'  not  to  make  sport  of  him,  but  because 
his  Christian  name  was  Paul,  and  they  saw  a  similarity 
of  character  between  the  two,  and  the  same  firm 
adherence  to  the  truth  and  love  for  souls  in  him  as 
in  that  venerable  apostle.  Well,  here  am  I,  his 


THE   GTJID1KG  HAND.  201 

youngest  child,  and  am  going  out  to  ask  for  a  piece 
of  bread.  Yes,"  said  the  discouraged  woman,  "  I  am 
experiencing  more  than  David  did  in  this  respect.  I 
cannot  claim  that  I  am  perfect,  yet  I  am  trying  to 
serve  the  Lord.  But  my  father  was  a  whole-hearted 
Christian,  and  so  was  my  husband,  and  I  want  bread!" 

When  the  poor  woman  had  thus  poured  out  the 
sorrows  of  her  heart,  and  was  drawing  on  her  gloves 
to  start  upon  her  painful  errand,  she  heard  a  gentle 
rap  at  the  door. 

" There  I"  said  she,  "some  one  has  come,  and  I 
wanted  to  get  some  bread  for  dinner  !  "  but  checking 
herself  she  opened  the  door,  when  a  young  woman 
whom  she  had  seen  but  a  few  times,  and  one  who 
ever  prefaced  her  visits  to  the  sick  with  prayer, 
entered,  and  said : 

"I  have  often  heard  of  your  daughter's  sickness, 
and  felt  a  strong  desire  to  come  and  see  her  this 
morning.  And  I  brought  a  simple  gift.  I  hope  you 
will  not  feel  hurt  because  it  is  such  a  common  article, 
for  when  I  tried  to  select  something  else  my  mind 
was  unaccountably  directed  to  this,"  and  she  hesitat- 
ingly laid  upon  the  table  a  loaf  of  bread! 

Mrs.  H.  felt  reproved.  But  oh,  how  lovingly 
and  gently  had  her  heavenly  Father  reproved  her ! 
She  told  her  visitor  why  she  had  on  her  bonnet  and 
shawl,  and  then  said  tearfully  and  reverently, 

"I  can  now  say  with  David,  * /  have  been  young, 
and  now  am  old;  yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous 
forsaken,  nor  his  seed  begging  bread.'" 

And  that  night,  as  she  kneeled  by  her  daughter's 


202  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

sick-bed,  how  earnestly  she  begged  for  pardon  for 
that  moment  of  unbelief,  and  prayed  for  strength  to 
say,  " Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him.  " 

It  is  now  about  fifteen  years  since  God  sent  that 
loaf  of  bread  to  that  widow's  humble  home ;  and  in 
all  that  time,  in  many  wondrous  ways,  he  has  shown 
his  care,  and  his  faithfulness  has  never  failed. 

Mrs.  H.  has  since  passed  from  earthly  toils,  and 
rests  in  peace  and  hope  ;  her  daughter  yet  survives, 
a  witness  to  the  mercy  of  the  Lord ;  and  her  hand  has 
traced  this  record  of  her  heavenly  Father's  ever- 
watchful  care,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  strengthen 
some  poor  afflicted  child  of  God  who  knows  the  lack 
of  earthly  blessings  and  enjoyments,  and  encourage 
those  who  can  minister  to  the  sick  and  distressed,  to 
seek  and  follow  the  directions  of  God's  guiding  hand 
in  dispensing  their  charities  to  those  who  stand  in 
need  of  their  assistance. 


A  FEAEFUL  EIDE. 

That  "the  angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round 
about  them  that  fear  him,  arid  delivereth  them,"  is 
not  only  expressly  stated  in  the  word  of  God,  but 
also  abundantly  shown  in  the  history  of  his  people. 
Nor  need  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  sacred  records 
in  our  examination  of  this  subject,  for  he  who  walks 
the  earth  with  eyes  anointed  from  on  high,  will  often 
recognize  the  wondrous  working  of  mysterious  powers 
which  change  the  course  of  human  events,  and  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  203 

Among  many  strange  experiences  of  an  eventful 
life,  I  recall  one  which  may  serve  to  illustrate  this 
subject;  and  the  simple  facts  in  the  case,  as  nearly 
as  I  can  remember  them,  are  now  for  the  first  time 
recorded,  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  those 
who  may  read  them. 

In  the  winter  of  1858,  when  we  resided  in  Roches- 
ter, N.  Y.,  my  husband,  through  exposure  in  gospel 
labor,  suffered  an  attack  of  lung  fever ;  and  during 
the  period  of  his  convalescence  he  employed  himself 
in  completing  a  little  volume,  "The  Great  Contro- 
versy Between  God  and  Man;  its  Origin,  Progress, 
and  End,"  which,  having  finished,  he  carried  to  New 
York  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  and 
remained  in  the  city  to  superintend  its  issue.  While 
there  an  open  door  was  set  before  him ;  and  in  various 
churches,  as  opportunity  was  afforded,  he  testified  of 
the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  especially  in  the 
South  street  church  in  Brooklyn,  where  many  heard 
the  word  with  joy,  and  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ, 

The  period  of  his  stay  being  somewhat  protracted, 
and  the  work  increasing  on  his  hands,  he  decided,  in 
accordance  with  the  desire  of  friends  there,  to  send 
for  me  to  come  and  assist  in  the  labor.  Accordingly 
on  the  morning  of  the  16th  of  February  I  received 
from  him  a  telegram  saying,  "  Come  on  to  New  York 
if  possible  to-night,  by  the  Harlem  Road  ;" — the  fare 
by  that  route  being  somewhat  cheaper  than  by  the 
others  ; — and  fearing  that  he  might  have  been  taken 
with  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  I  arranged  my  house- 


204  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

hold  affairs,  and  took  the  evening  train  for  Albany, 
en  route  for  New  York. 

Upon  entering  the  railway  carriage  I  felt  a  strange 
sensation  of  uneasiness  steal  over  me.  I  had  often 
travelled  alone -and  without  anxiety,  and  was  cour- 
ageous and  independent,  but  I  could  not  dispel  a 
dreadful  apprehension  of  approaching  danger,  which 
hung  like  a  shadow  over  my  mind.  I  tried  to  resist 
the  feeling,  but  in  vain.  All  night  long,  as  the  train 
thundered  over  its  iron  track  for  more  than  two 
hundred  miles,  the  fear  of  coming  calamity  lay  like  a 
burden  on  my  thoughts  ; — sleep  fled  from  my  eyelids  ; 
all  efforts  to  feel  unconcerned  were  vain,  and  I  could 
only  pray  the  Lord  to  spare  my  life  to  reach  my 
journey's  end  in  peace,  and  meet  my  husband  once 
more. 

At  sunrise  we  arrived  at  Albany  and  I  gladly  left 
the  train,  thankful  that  I  was  safely  there,  and  pleased 
to  feel  that  all  my  gloomy  fears  and  fancies  were  but 
the  offspring  of  disordered  nerves,  and  the  results 
of  physical  exhaustion.  But  when  we  crossed  the 
Hudson  river  and  entered  the  Harlem  R.  R.  cars  for* 
New  York,  to  my  astonishment  my  apprehensions 
returned  again  with  redoubled  force,  and  I  felt  cer- 
tain that  some  disaster  was  about  to  occur.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  the  train  which  we  were  on  was  destined 
to  be  smashed  to  pieces  ;  and  though  I  tried  to  per- 
suade myself  that  it  was  but  an  idle  whim,  the  result 
of  mere  nervous  depression,  yet  no  skill  of  reasoning, 
or  force  of  will  could  banish  the  feeling  from  my  mind. 

I  occupied  a  seat  near  the  forward  end  of  the  car- 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  205 

riage,  over  the  wheels,  and,  after  riding  some  two 
hours  in  this  state  of  anxiety  and  perturbation,  I 
thought  I  heard  a  voice  saying  to  me,  "Put  your 
feet  up  on  the  seat."  I  turned  to  see  if  any  one  had 
spoken  to  me,  but  no  one  was  sitting  near;  and  I 
started  to  draw  my  feet  up  beneath  me  on  the  seat, 
when  the  thought  occurred  to  me  that  such  a  posture 
would  look  strangely  to  the  other  passengers,  and  I 
stopped.  Again  the  voice  seemed  to  say,  "Put 
your  feet  up  on  the  seat!"  and  thinking  only  of  the 
strangeness  of  the  suggestion,  and  how  foolish  I  was 
to  yield  to  such  impressions,  I  said,  "I  will  not  be 
so  nervous,"  and  planted  my  feet  firmly  on  the  floor. 

My  apprehensions  of  danger,  however,  increased, 
and  I  could  but  continue  in  earnest  prayer  that  God 
would  protect  me  to  my  journey's  end.  A  few 
moments  of  suspense  thus  passed  away,  and  there 
was  a  sudden  report  as  of  an  explosion,  and  a  hissing 
roar  as  of  escaping  steam  ;  the  train  came  to  a  sudden 
stand-still ;  the  passengers  screamed  and  rushed  for 
the  door,  while  I,  forgetful  that  I  had  ever  known  a 
fear,  sat  calmly  in  my  seat,  half  amused  at  the  sur- 
rounding tumult  that  filled  the  car. 

At  that  moment  the  conductor  entered  the  car  and 
said,  "  Be  calm  ;  be  calm  ;  there  is  no  one  hurt ;"  and 
then  looking  along  on  the  floor  as  if  in  search  of 
something,  he  came  to  where  I  sat,  glanced  down 
upon  the  floor  in  front  of  my  seat,  and  looking  at  me 
with  astonishment  he  inquired,  "Are  you  not  fright- 
ened?"  "Oh,  no,"  I  replied,  forgetting  to  mention 
that  I  had  my  part  of  the  fright  before,  "Well, 


206  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

you  are  one  among  a  thousand,"  said  he.  He  pointed 
to  the  floor  beneath  my  feet.  A  portion  of  it,  some 
eighteen  inches  square,  was  stove  and  splintered  up, 
and  the  pieces  of  a  broken  car  wheel  were  visible, 
crowding  their 'way  up  through  the  wreck.  For  the 
first  time  I  then  noticed  that  my  feet  were  drawn  up 
beneath  me  on  the  seat.  How  or  when  they  got 
there  I  never  knew.  The  conductor  inquired,  "  Are 
you  hurt?"  I  replied  I  was  not.  He  said,  "If 
your  feet  had  been  down  there  you  might  have  been 
injured  badly;"  and  turning  to  a  gentleman  who 
stood  by  he  remarked,  "  If  we  had  not  discovered 
just  at  that  moment  that  the  boiler  was  nearly  dry, 
and  that  we  were  in  danger  of  an  explosion,  we 
should  not  have  halted,  and  the  train  would  have 
been  all  smashed  up." 

I  had  noticed  previously  an  unusual  thumping 
beneath  my  feet,  but  attributed  it  to  the  roll  and 
jostle  of  the  wheels  ;  but  it  appeared  that  there  was  a 
broken  car  wheel  under  me,  and  if  that  wheel  had 
made  a  dozen  revolutions  more,  I  should  probably 
have  been  a  torn  and  mangled  corpse,  the  train  would 
have  been  wrecked,  and  this  story  would  never  have 
been  told.  The  stopping  of  the  train  at  that  critical 
time,  was,  I  doubt  not,  the  means  of  saving  my  life. 

After  a  delay  of  two  or  three  hours,  while  another 
engine  was  being  procured  from  Chatham,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  New  York,  where  I  found  my  husband 
waiting  for  me  at  the  depot ;  and  we  thanked  God 
for  his  preserving  mercy  to  us. 

Years  have  passed  since  then.     I  have  travelled  in 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  207 

safety  many  thousands  of  miles,  through  the  favor  of 
Him  who  hath  given  his  angels  charge  concerning 
his  people  to  keep  them  in  all  their  ways ;  and 
though  I  have  never  since  experienced  such  a  sense 
of  apprehension  as  haunted  me  through  that  fearful 
ride,  or  such  a  strange  deliverance  from  impending 
destruction,  yet  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  the  constant 
presence  and  kindly  care  of  Him  whose  mighty  hand 
delivered  me  "from  so  great  a  death"  when  I  took 
that  fearful  ride.  Harriet  B.  Hasfcings. 


"TAKE  CAEE  OF  HIM." 

* '  I  was  a  father  to  the  poor ;  and  the  cause  which 
I  knew  not  I  searched  out."  This  was  the  course  of 
the  patient  man,  and  his  example  is  worthy  of  our 
imitation.  But  we  are  prone  to  forget  our  duty  in 
the  multiplicity  of  other  cares,  and  sometimes  we 
need  the  guidings  of  a  divine  impulse  to  quicken  us 
to  diligence  and  lead  us  in  our  way.  And  when  thus 
directed  we  do  well  to  give  heed  to  the  inward  voice. 

A  Christian  woman  in  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  relates 
the  following  account,  which  illustrates  this  subject  : 

"In  the  winter  of  1872,  while  on  a  visit  for  a  few 
days  in  company  with  some  friends,  I  was  impressed 
one  morning  with  the  remembrance  of  an  Irishman, 
who,  some  months  before,  had  had  the  care  of  our 
horse,  and  had  occasionally  brought  it  to  the  door 
for  me.  This  was  the  only  acquaintance  I  had  with 
him.  With  the  remembrance  of  this  man,  these 
words  sounded  in  my  ears,  '  Take  care  of  him.'  I 


208  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

asked  my  husband  if  he  knew  anything  about  Tom. 
He  said  he  did  not;  the  last  time  he  saw  him  was, 
perhaps,  two  months  before,  when  we  were  riding, 
and  he  told  me  Tom  had  left  the  stable  on  account  of 
his  health. 

"  I  said  to  him, '  Something  is  to  be  done  for  him,' 
and  asked  if  he  knew  whether  he  was  sick,  or  very 
poor.  He  said  he  did  not.  '  Well/  I  said,  '  some- 
thing is  the  matter,  and  we  must  see  about  it.'  He 
told  me  he  did  not  think  the  stable-keeper  would  let 
him  suffer ;  Tom  had  worked  for  him  too  many  years, 
and  he  guessed  he  would  be  taken  care  of.  So  I 
was  quieted,  and  so  was  the  spirit  within  me,  until 
I  had  been  at  home  a  day  and  a  half,  when  at  night 
the  woman  who  worked  for  me  by  the  day,  asked  me 
if  I  was  willing  she  should  have  a  glass  of  my  jelly 
to  take  to  Tom.  The  moment  she  mentioned  Tom, 
it  struck  me  like  a  thunder-bolt,  while  the  flash  of 
the  Spirit  revealed  to  me  that  I  had  disregarded  his 
teachings. 

"I  asked  the  woman  what  the  matter  was  with  Tom ; 
she  said  he  was  very  sick  with  consumption,  and 
they  were  very  poor,  he  having  a  wife  and  three  or 
four  children.  I  told  her  I  was  bidden  while  away 
to  care  for  them,  but  had  neglected  it  to  my  condem- 
nation and  shame,  and  bade  her  to  take  the  jelly  or 
anything  else  there  was  in  the  house  that  would  make 
him  comfortable,  and  also  a  dollar  for  the  sick  man, 
it  being  all  the  money  I  had  at  the  time. 

"The  next  morning  was  Sunday,  and  feeling  the 
matter  still  on  my  mind,  I  asked  my  husband  if  he 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  209 

would  go,  before  breakfast,  and  see  what  they 
needed.  He  went,  found  the  man  very  sick  and  the 
family  very  needy,  having  in  the  house  only  what  the 
dollar  had  bought  for  them  in  coal  and  provisions. 
They  were  made  comfortable,  but  Tom  lived  only  a 
few  days  to  express  his  unbounded  gratitude. 

"Thus  I  was  taught  the  importance  of  being 
prompt  to  obey  the  manifestations  of  the  Spirit." 

Instances  of  this  general  character  are  by  no  means 
unusual.  Many  who  read  these  lines  can  testify  to 
personal  experience  of  a  similar  nature.  Well  will 
it  be  for  us  if  we  learn  to  heed  the  Spirit's  call,  and 
"  to  do  good  and  to  communicate  forget  not,  for  with 
such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased." 

CAPTAIN  YOMT'S  DREAM. 

The  tender  mercies  of  the  Lord  are  over  all  his 
works  ;  and  the  limit  of  divine  possibilities  is  far 
beyond  the  range  of  human  vision,  understanding,  or 
prescience.  By  ways  we  know  not  our  heavenly 
Father  leads  the  ignorant  and  blind,  and  teaches  us 
the  path  in  which  we  should  go  ;  sometimes  instructing 
us  from  his  living  Word  ;  sometimes  by  the  intima- 
tions of  his  providence  ;  sometimes  by  the  whisper- 
ings of  a  still,  small  voice,  which  struggles  for  a  hear- 
ing amid  the  noisy  tumults  of  our  waking  hours ; 
and  at  other  times  by  the  more  vivid  revelations  with 
which  he  impresses  our  passive  minds  in  the  silence 
of  our  nightly  slumbers. 

A  striking  instance  of  the  mysterious  working  of 


210  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

God  to  accomplish  his  providential  deliverances,  is 
related  by  Horace  Bushnell,  in  the  fourteenth  chap- 
ter of  his  work  on  "Nature  and  the  Supernatural,  as 
together  constituting  the  One  System  of  God  :" 

"  As  I  sat  by  the  fire,"  says  Dr.  Bushnell,  "  one 
stormy  November  night,  in  a  hotel  parlor  in  the  Napa 
Valley,  of  California,  there  came  in  a  most  venerable 
and  benignant-looking  person,  with  his  wife,  and  took 
their  seats  in  the  circle.  The  stranger,  as  I  after- 
ward learned,  was  Captain  Yonnt,  a  man  who  came 
over  into  California,  as  a  trapper,  more  than  forty 
years  ago.  Here  he  has  lived,  apart  from  the  great 
world  and  its  questions,  acquiring  an  immense  landed 
estate,  and  becoming  a  kind  of  acknowledged  patri- 
arch in  the  country.  His  tall,  manly  person,  and  his 
gracious,  paternal  look,  as  totally  unsophisticated  in 
the  expression  as  if  he  had  never  heard  of  a  philo- 
sophic doubt  or  question  in  his  life,  marked  him  as 
the  true  patriarch.  The  conversation  turned,  I  know 
not  how,  on  spiritism  and  the  modern  necromancy, 
and  he  discovered  a  degree  of  inclination  to  believe 
in  the  reported  mysteries.  His  wife,  a  much  young- 
er and  apparently  Christian  person,  intimated  that 
probably  he  was  predisposed  to  this  kind  of  faith,  by 
a  very  peculiar  experience  of  his  own,  and  evidently 
desired  that  he  might  be  drawn  out  by  some  intelli- 
gent discussion  of  his  queries. 

"At  my  request,  he  gave  me  his  story.  About  six 
or  seven  years  previous,  in  a  mid-winter's  night,  he 
had  a  dream,  in  which  he  saw  what  appeared  to  be  a 
company  of  emigrants,  arrested  by  the  snow  of  the 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  211 

mountains,  and  perishing  rapidly  by  cold  and  hun- 
ger. He  noted  the  very  cast  of  the  scenery,  marked 
by  a  huge  perpendicular  front  of  white  rock  cliff ; 
he  saw  the  men  cutting  off  what  appeared  to  be  tree- 
tops,  rising  out  of  deep  gulfs  of  snow ;  he  distin- 
guished the  very  features  of  the  persons,  and  the  look 
of  their  particular  distress.  He  woke,  profoundly 
impressed  with  the  distinctness  and  apparent  reality 
of  his  dream.  At  length  he  fell  asleep,  and  dreamed 
exactly  the  same  dream  again.  In  the  morning  he 
could  not  expel  it  from  his  mind.  Falling  in,  short- 
ly, with  an  old  hunter  comrade,  he  told  him  the  story, 
and  was  only  the  more  deeply  impressed,  by  his  rec- 
ognizing, without  hesitation,  the  scenery  of  the 
dream.  This  comrade  came  over  the  Sierras,  by  the 
Carson  Valley  Pass,  and  declared  that  a  spot  in  the 
pass  answered  exactly  to  his  description.  By  this, 
the  unsophisticated  patriarch  was  decided.  He  im- 
mediately collected  a  company  of  men,  with  mules 
and  blankets,  and  all  necessary  provisions.  The 
neighbors  were  laughing,  meantime,  at  his  credulity. 
«  No  matter,'  said  he,  <I  am  able  to  do  this,  and  I 
will,  for  I  verily  believe  that  the  fact  is  according  to 
my  dream.'  The  men  were  sent  into  the  mountains, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant,  directly  to  the 
Carson  Valley  Pass  ;  and  there  they  found  the  com- 
pany, in  exactly  the  condition  of  the  dream,  and 
brought  in  the  remnant  alive. 

"  A  gentleman  present  said,  '  You  need  have  no 
doubt  of  this  ;  for  we  Californians  all  know  the  facts, 
and  the  names  of  the  families  brought  in,  who  now 


212  ,  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

look  upon  our  venerable  friend  as  a  kind  of  saviour.' 
These  names  he  gave,  and  the  places  where  they  re- 
side, and  I  found  afterwards  that  the  California  people 
were  ready,  everywhere,  to  second  his  testimony. 

"Nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  for  the  good- 
hearted  patriarch  himself  to  add,  that  the  brightest 
thing  in  his  life  and  that  which  gave  him  greatest 
joy,  was  his  simple  faith  in  that  dream.  I  thought, 
also,  I  could  see  in  that  joy,  the  glimmer  of  a  true 
Christian  love  and  life,  into  which,  unawares  to  him- 
self, he  had  really  been  entered  by  that  faith.  Let 
any  one  attempt,  now,  to  account  for  the  coincidences 
of  that  dream  by  mere  natural  causalities,  and  he  will 
be  glad  enough  to  ease  his  labor,  by  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  a  supernatural  Providence." 

So  much  we  learn  from  Dr.  Bushnell,  but  who  can 
tell  the  rest  ?  Such  histories  are  never  fully  written  ; 
the  inside  view  is  only  seen  by  God  himself.  Who 
knows  what  prayers  went  up  that  night  from  fathers, 
mothers,  wives,  and  friends,  in  far-off  eastern  homes, 
in  behalf  of  those  emigrants  who  had  set  forth  upon 
their  long  and  dangerous  way  ?  Who  can  tell  the 
midnight  groans  and  secret  sighs  of  hearts  that  held 
communion  with  the  Lord,  and  craved  his  blessing 
over  the  absent  ones  ?  And  who  can  tell  the  uttered 
or  unspoken  pleadings  that  arose  from  that  storm- 
beleagured  band,  who,  perishing  amid  the  rigor  of 
that  awful  winter's  cold,  looked  up  to  God  when  every 
earthly  hope  and  help  had  failed?  Doubtless,  if  those 
rescued  ones  were  called  to  tell  their  tale,  we  should 
find  in  this  account  not  only  a  story  of  the  wise  direc- 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  213 

tion  of  God's  guiding  hand,  which  selected  perhaps 
the  only  man  in  California  who  had  means  to  send 
deliverance  to  these  distressed  ones,  and  faith  enough 
in  the  unseen  to  heed  a  divine  monition,  but  also  a 
most  striking  record  of  the  wondrous  virtue  of  pre- 
vailing prayer,  poured  out  by  souls  in  sore  and  deep 
distress. 

Enough,  however,  is  visible  and  undeniable  in  this 
case,  to  demonstrate  the  existence  of  a  providential 
Protector,  and  to  encourage  men  to  trust  in  Him. 

THE  SHIPWKECKED  CEEW. 

Admiral  Sir  Thomas  Williams,  the  founder  of  the 
Royal  Naval  Female  School  for  the  education  of 
naval  officers'  daughters,  was  in  the  command  of  a 
ship  crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  His  course  brought 
them  within  sight  of  the  island  of  Ascension,  at  that 
time  uninhabited,  and  never  visited  by  any  ship  except 
for  the  purpose  of  collecting  turtles,  which  abound 
on  the  coast.  The  island  is  barely  seen  on  the  hor- 
izon, but  as  Sir  Thomas  looked  at  it,  he  was  struck 
with  an  unaccountable  desire  to  steer  towards  it.  He 
felt  how  strange  such  a  visit  would  appear  to  his 
crew,  and  tried  to  disregard  it ;  but  in  vain !  the 
desire  of  the  straightforward  and  excellent  com- 
mander became  more  and  more  urgent ;  and  seeing 
that  they  were  fast  leaving  the  island  behind  them, 
he  told  his  lieutenant  to  prepare  to  "  put  about  ship," 
and  steer  for  Ascension.  His  lieutenant  ventured 
respectfully  to  remark  to  Sir  Thomas  that  changing 


214  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

their  course  would  greatly  delay  them ;  that  just  at 
that  moment  the  men  were  going  to  their  dinner ; 
that,  at  least,  some  delay  might  be  allowed.  But 
these  arguments  seemed  to  increase  the  captain's 
anxiety,  and  he  gave  the  word  of  command  which  is 
never  resisted.  He  saw  in  the  countenances  of  his 
officers  an  expression  of  wonder  and  even  blame,  but 
he  was  obeyed,  and  the  ship  was  steered  toward  the 
uninteresting  little  island.  All  eyes  and  spy-glasses 
were  immediately  fixed  upon  it,  and  soon  something 
was  perceived  on  the  shore. 

'  *  It  is  white — it  is  a  flag — it  must  be  a  signal ! " 
were  the  cries  which  at  intervals  broke  from  the 
excited  crew. 

When  they  neared  the  shore  a  painful  spectacle 
met  their  view.  Sixteen  men,  wrecked  on  that  coast 
many  days  before,  and  suffering  the  extremity  of 
hunger,  had  set  up  a  signal,  though  almost  without 
hope  of  relief.  The  shipwrecked  men  were  taken  on 
board,  and  the  voyage  completed. 

DELIYEEANCE  FKOM  DESPAIE, 

The  following  account,  extracted  from  a  volume 
entitled  Remarkable  Providences,  illustrates  the  won- 
drous ways  in  which  God  manifests  himself  to  break 
the  snare  of  the  fowler,  and  deliver  the  souls  that  sit 
in  darkness,  doubting  the  love  of  Him  who  died  for 
them,  and  despairing  of  that  mercy  which  still  ex- 
tends to  them  with  open  hand  a  pardon  bought  with 
blood : 

During  a  powerful  revival  of  religion  that  took 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  215 

place  many  years  ago,  in  Salem  county,  N.  J.,  there 
was  a  young  woman  who  was  induced  by  her  friends 
to  attend  the  meeting,  and  becoming  deeply  affected, 
was  persuaded  to  approach  the  altar,  where,  after 
much  seeking,  with  bitter  repentance,  she  was  happily 
converted  to  God. 

This  person  became  very  exemplary  in  her  deport- 
ment, and  wherever  she  went,  had  something  to  say 
in  favor  of  the  blessed  treasure  she  had  so  recently 
found,  she  remaining  faithful  for  a  number  of  years. 
She  married  a  deeply  pious  man,  with  whom  she 
lived  happily.  In  a  few  years  he  died,  and  she, 
being  left  a  widow,  and  poor,  had  to  struggle  hard 
for  the  support  of  herself  and  children ;  but  at  this 
time,  when  the  consolations  of  religion  were  the  most 
needed,  she  gave  way  to  a  murmuring  and  repining 
spirit,  and  became  very  wicked  and  unhappy.  She 
remained  in  this  state  many  long  years.  Effort  after 
effort  was  made  to  reclaim  her,  but  all  apparently  in 
vain. 

One  of  her  sons  at  this  time  embraced  religion, 
and  consequently  became  deeply  solicitous  for  his 
mother's  salvation.  He  prayed  and  wept,  and  with 
many  entreaties  urged  her  to  return  to  the  Shepherd 
and  Bishop  of  souls.  To  all  this  her  answer  was, 
"  You  need  not  grieve  for  me,  my  son,  for  my  day 
of  grace  is  gone — the  Spirit  has  not  striven  with  me 
for  over  twenty  years  ;  my  damnation  is  sure."  At 
this  time  her  health,  which  had  been  very  good, 
began  to  decline  ;  day  by  day  she  became  weaker  and 
weaker,  until  it  was  apparent  to  all  that  the  fell 


216  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

destroyer  had  marked  her  for  his  prey.  The  despair 
that  filled  her  heart,  with  the  afflictions  of  her  body, 
soon  wore  her  down  to  almost  nothing.  Brethren 
came  from  all  directions,  by  the  importunity  of  her 
son,  to  pray  for  her,  and  point  her  to  Christ,  the 
friend  of  sinners  ;  but  in  vain.  To  all  of  their  solici- 
tations and  entreaties  her  answer  was,  "  Leave  me 
alone.  I  am  justly  lost.  You  can  do  me  no  good. 
The  few  moments  I  have  on  earth,  let  me  spend  in 
peace.  Your  prayers  only  torment  me." 

Her  deeply-affected  son  now  resolved  to  set  aside 
a  day  to  fast  and  pray  for  the  salvation  of  his  mother ; 
he  therefore  repaired  to  a  lonely  wood,  and  with 
none  but  God  to  see  his  grief  or  tears,  he  fell  on  his 
knees,  and  with  many  entreaties  besought  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  to  have  mercy  upon  her  soul.  After 
continuing  this  all  day,  toward  evening,  with  his 
face  bathed  in  tears,  he  fell  to  the  earth,  struggling, 
and  crying,  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go  until  thou  answer 
me."  A  heavenly  calm  filled  his  breast,  joy  sprung 
up  in  his  heart,  and  evidence  clear  and  strong  was 
given,  "Thy  prayer  is  answered,  go  in  peace." 

It  was  Saturday  morning ;  I  was  at  work  on  my 
farm,  some  fifty  miles  from  the  scene  I  am  attempt- 
ing to  describe,  knowing  nothing  of  this  woman, 
when  I  felt  a  powerful  impression  on  my  mind  to 
harness  my  horse  to  the  carriage,  and  immediately 
drive  to  Brother  P.'s,  who  resided  thirty-five  miles 
from  my  house,  and  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  several 
years.  I  tried  to  put  it  off,  but  my  peace  of  mind 
was  gone,  and,  to  get  relief,  I  started.  I  arrived  in 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  21  / 

the  evening,  stayed  over  the  Sunday,  and  preached 
twice,  intending  to  return  home  next  morning;  but 
being  awakened  several  hours  before  day,  the  im- 
pression was  renewed  to  go  fifteen  miles  farther  to 
see  Brother  T.,  also,  whom  I  had  not  met  for  several 
years.  I  arose  at  daybreak,  and  found  it  raining. 
Kesolving  to  go  home,  I  started;  but  oh,  the  horror 
of  mind  that  seized  me  !  To  get  relief  I  turned  my 
horse  and  drove  for  the  brother's.  He  was  not  at 
home  when  I  arrived,  but  soon  came,  and  with  joy 
welcomed  me.  I  related  to  him  the  circumstances  of 
my  coming,  and  said,  "Brother  T.,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  is  there  anything  for  me  to  do  here?" 

He  solemnly  paused,  then  related  to  me  the  case 
of  this  woman,  who  lived  only  a  few  rods  off,  telling 
me  she  was  apparently  but  just  alive,  and  dying  in 
sin.  Now  faith  sprung  up,  and,  with  strong  confi- 
dence, I  went  to  see  her.  On  entering  the  room,  I 
approached  the  bedside,  and  beheld  the  pale  and 
emaciated  form  propped  up,  coughing  almost  inces- 
santly, and  her  son  weeping  sadly  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed.  She  related  to  me  her  doleful  condition,  beg- 
ging me  not  to  pray,  or  mention  the  name  of  Christ, 
as  it  filled  her  with  indescribable  torment.  Lifting 
my  heart  to  God,  I  sat  several  minutes  in  silence, 
only  broken  by  the  sobs  of  her  affectionate  son,  when 
I  felt  it  required  of  me  to  reason  with  her  on  the  sin 
and  folly  of  grieving  the  Holy  Spirit  by  despairing 
of  that  mercy  that  was  ready  to  receive  her ;  and 
surely  the  Holy  Ghost  helped  me,  for,  fixing  her 
dying  eyes  upon  me,  she  appeared  to  drink  in  every 


218  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

word ;  her  son  and  the  brother  who  went  with  me 
looking  on  with  great  interest. 

We  fell  on  our  knees,  and,  after  Brother  T.  had 
prayed,  I  was  drawn  out  with  as  much  power  as  I 
ever  experienced  in  prayer,  to  urge  her  case  at  the 
throne  of  grace.  Tears  of  sympathy  fell  from  my 
eyes,  and  laying  hold  on  God,  I  resolved  never  to 
leave  the  house  until  salvation  appeared.  While 
thus  pleading,  she  sprang  up  in  bed  and  cried  for 
mercy,  in  language  the  most  affecting  I  ever  heard, 
while  tears  of  penitence  rolled  down  her  cheeks. 
Being  thus  encouraged,  we  continued  pouring  out 
our  souls  unto  Him  who  had  promised  to  hear  us, 
when,  in  a  moment,  while  I  had  my  gaze  fixed 
upon  her,  I  saw  her  countenance  change ;  heaven 
beamed  in  her  eye,  joy  sprang  up  in  her  heart,  and 
"  Glory,  glory!"  and  loud  hallelujahs  pealed  from 
her  tongue ;  while  her  son,  who  had  so  long  looked 
for  redemption,  fell  on  the  floor,  and,  with  rapturous 
songs,  blessed  the  God  of  Israel,  his  Saviour.  She 
lived  in  this  heavenly  frame  of  mind  three  weeks, 
and  died  shouting,  "  Glory,  glory  !  victory,  victory  I" 

In  this  way  was  the  prey  "delivered  from  the 
hand  of  the  mighty,"  and  the  satanic  lies  which  had 
caused  this  woman  to  doubt  God's  love  and  despair 
of  her  own  salvation,  were  chased  away  before  the 
glad  tidings  of  that  grace  and  truth  which  came  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  which  abounds  to  the  salvation  of 
the  outermost  or  farthest  off,  even  to  the  chief  of 
sinners,  for  whom  Christ  the  Saviour  died. 


THE  GUIDING  HAND.  219 

PROVISION  FOE  CALEB. 

The  following  interesting  narrative  was  published 
in  the  Annual  Baptist  Register  for  1801-1802,  edited 
by  Dr.  John  Eippon ;  pp.  1097-1099.  It  was  com- 
municated by  "J.  S.,"  who  heard  it  from  the  lips  of 
Dr.  Samuel  Stennett,  the  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  Stennett, 
who  was  acquainted  with  the  parties  and  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case.  Dr.  Joseph  Stennett,  who  was 
also  the  son  of  a  minister,  died  in  1712,  aged  forty- 
nine.  He  was  the  author  of  the  well-known  hymn, — 

"Another  six  days'  work  is  done ; — " 

and  Dr.   Samuel   Stennett  wrote  the  equally  well- 
known  hymn, — 

"On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand, 
And  cast  a  wishful  eye — " 

Dr.  Joseph  Stennett  married  a  lady  in  Wales,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  resided  there  several  years  ; 
and  many  of  his  children  were  born  there.  He 
preached  with  great  acceptance  to  the  Baptist  congre- 
gation in  Abergavenny.  There  was  a  poor  man 
belonging  to  that  meeting,  generally  known  by  the 
name  of  Caleb.  He  was  a  collier  and  lived  among 
the  hills  between  Abergavenny  and  Hereford.  He 
had  a  wife  and  several  small  children ;  and  walked 
seven  or  eight  miles  every  Lord's  day  to  hear  the 
Doctor,  the  weather  seldom  preventing  him.  He  was 
a  very  pious  man  ;  and  his  knowledge  and  understand- 
ing were  remarkable,  considering  the  disadvantages 
of  his  situation  and  circumstances.  The  Doctor  was 
very  partial  to  him,  and  pleased  with  his  conversation. 


220  THE  GUIDING  HAND. 

As  before  observed,  bad  weather  seldom  hindered 
Caleb's  attendance  on  the  word ;  but  there  was  a 
severe  frost  one  winter,  which  lasted  many  weeks, 
and  blocked  up  his  way,  so  that  he  could  not  possibly 
pass  without  danger ;  neither  could  he  work  for  the 
support  of  himself  and  family.  The  Doctor  and 
many  others  were  much  concerned,  lest  they  should 
perish  for  want.  However,  no  sooner  was  the  frost 
broken  but  Caleb  appeared  again.  The  Doctor, 
when  he  was  in  the  pulpit,  spied  him ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  service  was  ended  went  to  him  and  said,  "Oh 
Caleb,  how  glad  I  am  to  see  you  !  How  have  you 
done  during  the  severity  of  the  weather  ?  "  who  cheer- 
fully answered,  " Never  better  in  my  life.  I  not 
only  had  necessaries,  but  lived  upon  dainties  during 
the  whole  time,  and  have  some  still  remaining,  which 
will  serve  us  some  time  to  come."  The  Doctor 
expressed  his  surprise,  and  wished  to  be  informed  of 
particulars. 

Caleb  told  him  that  one  night,  soon  after  the  com- 
mencement of  the  frost,  they  had  eaten  up  all  their 
stock,  and  had  not  a  morsel  left  for  the  morning,  nor 
any  human  probability  of  getting  any ;  but  he  found 
his  mind  quite  calm  and  composed,  relying  on  a  prov- 
ident God,  who  neither  wanted  power  nor  means  to 
supply  his  wants  ;  and  he  went  to  prayer  with  his  fam- 
ily, and  then  to  rest,  and  slept  soundly  till  morning. 
Before  he  was  up,  he  heard  a  knock  at  his  door ;  he 
went  to  see  who  was  there,  and  saw  a  man  standing 
with  a  horse,  loaded,  who  asked  if  his  name  was 
Caleb.  He  answered  in  the  affirmative ;  the  man 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  221 

desired  him  to  help  him  to  take  down  the  load.  Caleb 
asked  him  what  it  was.  He  said,  provision.  On  his 
inquiring  who  sent  it,  the  man  said  he  believed  that 
God  had  sent  it,  and  he  could  obtain  no  other  answer. 

When  he  came  to  examine  the  contents,  he  was 
struck  with  amazement  at  the  quantity  and  variety 
of  the  articles.  There  was  bread,  flour,  oatmeal, 
butter,  cheese,  salt  meat  and  fresh,  neat's  tongue, 
etc.,  etc.,  which  served  them  through  the  frost,  and 
left  some  remaining  to  that  present  time. 

The  Doctor  was  much  affected  with  the  account, 
and  mentioned  it  in  all  companies  where  he  went,  in 
hopes  of  finding  out  the  benevolent  donor,  but  in  vain ; 
till  about  two  years  afterward,  he  went  to  visit  Dr. 
Talbot,  a  noted  physician  of  the  city  of  Hereford. 
This  Dr.  Talbot  was  a  man  of  good  moral  character, 
and  a  very  generous  disposition,  but  an  infidel  in 
principle.  His  wife  was  a  gracious  woman,  and  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Abergavenny,  but 
could  not  very  often  attend  on  account  of  the  distance. 

Dr.  Stennett  used  to  go  and  visit  her  now  and 
then ;  and  Dr.  Talbot,  though  a  man  of  no  religion 
himself,  always  received  Dr.  Stennett  with  great 
politeness ;  and  he  generally  staid  a  night  or  two  at 
his  house  when  he  went.  As  they  were  conversing 
very  pleasantly  one  evening,  Dr.  Stennett,  thinking 
it  his  duty  to  introduce  something  that  was  enter- 
taining and  profitable,  spoke  of  the  great  efficacy  of 
prayer,  and  instanced  the  circumstance  of  poor 
Caleb.  As  he  was  relating  the  affair,  he  observed 
Dr.  Talbot  smile,  and  said, — 


222  THE  GUIDING  HAND. 

"Caleb  !  I  shall  never  forget  him  as  long  as  I  live." 

"What !  did  you  know  him?"  said  Dr.  Stennott. 

"I  had  but  very  little  knowledge  of  him,"  said  Dr. 
Talbot,  "but  by  your  description  I  know  he  must  be 
the  same  man  yau  mean." 

Then  Dr.  Stennett  was  very  urgent  to  hear  what 
account  Dr.  Talbot  had  to  give  of  him  ;  upon  which 
Dr.  Talbot  freely  related  the  following  circumstance  : 

He  said  that  the  summer  previous  to  the  hard  win- 
ter above  mentioned,  he  was  riding  on  horseback  for 
the  benefit  of  the  air,  as  was  his  usual  custom  when 
he  had  a  leisure  hour,  and  he  generally  chose  to  ride 
among  the  hills,  it  being  more  pleasant,  rural  and 
romantic,  there  being  a  few  farm-houses  dispersed 
here  and  there,  and  a  few  little  cots.  As  he  was 
riding,  he  observed  a  number  of  people  assembled  in 
a  barn  ;  his  curiosity  led  him  to  ride  up  to  the  barn- 
door to  learn  the  cause  of  their  assembling,  when  he 
found  to  his  great  surprise  that  there  was  a  man  there 
preaching  to  a  vast  number  of  people. 

He  stopped  till  the  service  was  ended ;  and  he 
observed  that  the  auditory  were  very  attentive  to 
what  the  preacher  delivered ;  and  one  poor  man  in 
particular,  attracted  his  notice,  who,  as  he  had  a  little 
Bible  in  his  hand,  turned  to  every  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture the  minister  quoted :  he  wondered  to  see  how 
ready  a  man  of  his  appearance  was  at  turning  to  the 
places  ;  and  he  likewise  noticed  that  his  Bible  was  full 
of  dog's  ears, — that  is,  the  corners  of  the  leaves  were 
turned  down  very  thickly. 

When  the  service  was  over,  he  walked  his  horse 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  223 

gently  along,  in  order  to  observe  the  people  ;  and  the 
poor  man  whom  he  had  particularly  noticed,  happened 
to  walk  by  his  side.  The  Doctor  entered  into  con- 
versation with  him,  asked  many  questions  concerning 
the  meeting  and  the  minister,  and  found  the  poor  man 
to  be  more  intelligent  than  he  could  have  expected. 
He  inquired  also  about  himself,  his  employment,  his 
family,  and  his  name ,  which  he  said  was  Caleb.  After 
the  Doctor  had  satisfied  his  curiosity,  he  rode  off, 
and  thought  no  more  about  him  till  the  great  frost 
came  on  the  following  winter,  when  he  was  one  night 
in  bed,  and  he  said  he  could  not  tell  for  certain 
whether  he  was  asleep  or  awake,  but  thought  he  heard 
a  voice  say,  "  Send  provision  to  Caleb."  He  was  a 
little  startled  at  first,  but  concluding  it  to  be  a  dream, 
he  endeavored  to  compose  himself  to  sleep.  It  was 
not  long  before  he  imagined  he  heard  the  same  words 
repeated,  but  louder  and  stronger.  Then  he  awoke 
his  wife,  who  was  in  a  sound  sleep,  and  told  her  what 
he  had  heard ;  but  she  persuaded  him  that  it  could  be 
no  other  than  a  dream,  and  she  soon  fell  asleep  again  ; 
yet  the  Doctor's  mind  was  so  much  impressed  that 
he  could  not  sleep  but  tumbled  and  tossed  about  for 
some  time.  At  last  he  heard  the  voice  so  powerful, 
saying,  "  Get  up,  and  send  provision  to  Caleb,"  that 
he  could  resist  no  longer. 

He  got  up  and  called  his  man,  bade  him  bring  his 
horse,  and  he  went  to  his  larder,  and  stuffed  a  pair  of 
panniers  as  full  as  he  possibly  could,  of  whatever  he 
could  find  ;  and  after  having  assisted  the  man  to  load 
the  horse,  he  bade  him  take  that  provision  to  Caleb. 


224  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

"Caleb,"  said  the  man,  "what  Caleb,  sir?"  "I  know 
very  little  of  him,"  said  the  Doctor,  "but  his  name  is 
Caleb ;  he  is  a  collier,  and  lives  among  the  hills  ;  let 
the  horse  go,  and  you  will  be  sure  to  find  him."  The 
man  seemed  to  "be  under  the  same  influence  as  his 
master;  which  accounts  for  his  telling  Caleb,  "God 
sent  it,  I  believe." 

As  for  Caleb,  he  was,  no  doubt,  quite  ready  to  give 
credit  to  the  assertion. 


THE  SPEECHLESS  ONES. 

While  reading  a  few  days  since  about  the  speech- 
less guest  at  the  royal  marriage-feast,  I  was  reminded 
of  some  speechless  ones  with  whom  I  had  been  ac- 
quainted in  days  past ;  and  I  thought  how  much  bet- 
ter it  is  to  be  speechless  with  astonishment  at  the 
divine  goodness  here,  than  to  be  dumb  with  despair 
and  anguish  at  the  judgment  day. 

A  friend  and  relative  of  the  writer,  who  was  "a 
widow  indeed,"  one  who  trusted  in  God,  and  con- 
tinued in  supplications  and  prayers  day  and  night, 
was  once  brought  into  circumstances  of  peculiar  strait- 
aess  and  trial.  She  had  two  daughters,  who  exerted 
themselves  with  their  needles  to  earn  a  livelihood ; 
and  at  that  time  they  were  so  busily  engaged  in  trying 
to  finish  some  work  that  had  long  been  on  their  hands, 
they  had  neglected  to  make  provision  for  their  ordi- 
nary wants,  until  they  found  themselves  one  winter's 
day,  in  the  midst  of  a  New  England  snow-storm, 
with  food  and  fuel  almost  exhausted,  at  a  distance 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  225 

from  neighbors,  and  without  any  means  of  procuring 
needful  sustenance. 

The  daughters  began  to  be  alarmed,  and  were  full 
of  anxiety  at  the  dismal  prospect,  but  the  good  old 
mother  said,  t  'Don't  worry,  girls,  the  Lord  will  pro- 
vide ;  we  have  enough  for  to-day,  and  to-morrow  may 
be  pleasant ;"  and  in  this  hope  the  girls  settled  down 
again  to  their  labor. 

Another  morning  came,  and  with  it  no  sunshine, 
but  wind  and  snow  in  abundance.  The  storm  still 
raged,  but  no  one  came  near  the  house,  and  all  was 
dark  and  dismal  without.  Noon  came,  and  the  last 
morsel  of  food  was  eaten,  the  wood  was  almost  gone  ; 
and  there  were  no  tokens  of  any  relief  for  their  neces- 
sities. 

The  girls  became  much  distressed,  and  talked  anx- 
iously of  their  condition,  but  the  good  mother  said, 
"Don't  worry,  the  Lord  will  provide."  But  they 
had  heard  that  story  the  day  before,  and  they  knew 
not  the  strong  foundation  upon  which  that  mother's 
trust  was  built,  and  could  not  share  the  confidence 
she  felt. 

"If  we  get  anything  to-day,  the  Lord  will  have  to 
bring  it  himself ;  for  nobody  else  can  get  here  if  they 
try,"  said  one  of  the  daughters,  impatiently.  But 
the  mother  said,  "Don't  worry ;"  and  so  they  sat  down 
again  to  their  sewing,  the  daughters  to  muse  upon 
their  necessitous  condition,  and  the  mother  to  roll 
her  burdens  on  the  Everlasting  Arm. 

While  this  conversation  was  going  on ,  an  aged  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord,  Mr.  M. ,  sat  at  his  fireside  about  a 
8 


226  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

mile  away,  surrounded  by  every  bounty  and  comfort 
needed  to  cheer  his  heart, — save  the  companion  of 
his  youth,  who  had  long  rested  in  hope  beneath  the 
clods  of  the  valley, — with  his  only  daughter  sitting  by 
his  side.  For  a  long  time  not  a  word  had  been  spoken, 
and  he  had  seemed  lost  in  silent  meditation,  till  at 
length  he  said,  "Mary,  I  want  you  to  go  and  order 
the  cattle  yoked,  and  then  get  me  a  bag.  I  must  go 
and  carry  some  wood  and  flour  to  Sister  C." 

4 'Why,  father,  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  go ;  there 
is  no  track,  and  it  is  all  of  a  mile  up  there.  You 
would  almost  perish." 

The  old  man  sat  in  silence  a  few  moments,  and 
then  said,  ''Mary,  I  must  go."  She  knew  her  father 
too  well  to  suppose  that  words  would  detain  him, 
and  so  complied  with  his  wishes.  While  she  held  the 
bag  for  him,  she  felt  perhaps  a  little  uneasiness  to  see 
the  flour  so  liberally  disposed  of,  and  said,  "I  wish 
you  would  remember  that  /  want  to  give  a  poor 
woman  some  flour  if  it  ever  clears  off."  The  old  man 
understood  the  intimation,  and  said,  "Mary,  give  all 
you  feel  it  your  duty  to, — and  when  the  Lord  says 
stop,  I  will  do  so." 

Soon  all  things  were  ready,  and  the  patient  oxen 
took  their  way  to  the  widow's  home ,  wallowing  through 
the  drifted  snow,  and  dragging  the  sled  with  its  load 
of  wood  and  flour.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon the  mother  had  arisen  from  her  work  to  fix  the 
fire,  and  looking  out  of  the  window  she  saw  the  oxen 
at  the  door,  and  she  knew  that  the  Lord  had  heard 
her  cry.  She  said  not  a  word, — why  should  she  ? 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  227 

she  was  not  surprised ; — but  presently  a  heavy  step 
at  the  threshold  caused  the  daughters  to  look  up  with 
astonishment,  as  Mr.  M.  strode  unceremoniously  into 
the  room,  saying,  "The  Lord  told  me,  Sister  C.,  that 
you  wanted  some  wood  and  flour." 

"He  told  you  the  truth"  said  the  widow,  "and  I 
will  praise  him  forever.  What  think  you  now,  girls  ?" 
she  continued,  as  she  turned  in  solemn  joy  to  her 
unbelieving  daughters . 

They  were  speechless ;  not  a  word  escaped  their 
lips,  but  they  pondered  that  new  revelation  of  the 
providential  mercy  of  the  Lord,  until  it  made  upon 
their  minds  an  impression  never  to  be  effaced ;  and 
long  ago  they  learne.d  to  trust  in  Him  who  cares  for 
the  needy  in  the  hour  of  their  distress,  and  who,  from 
his  boundless  stores,  supplies  the  wants  of  those  who 
trust  in  him. 

Another  instance  presents  itself  to  my  mind.  In 
a  humble  cottage  in  Connecticut,  two  sisters  were 
watching  over  and  caring  for  a  much  loved  brother, 
who  for  many  long  months  had  been  upon  a  bed  of 
sickness.  At  length  the  younger  of  them  began  to 
be  discouraged.  She  was  dependent  for  her  clothing 
upon  her  labor ;  her  shoes  were  worn  out,  and  how 
should  she  get  another  pair,  unless  she  could  leave 
the  sick-bed  and  go  away  from  home  and  work  and 
earn  some  money? 

"Well,"  said  the  mother,  "I  know  you  need  a  pair 
of  shoes,  but  don't  worry,  the  Lord  will  provide." 

"Do  you  think  that  the  Lord  will  come  down 
from  heaven  and  buy  me  a  pair  of  shoes  f  said  the 


228  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

daughter,  with  an  expression  of  discouragement  and 
vexation  on  her  countenance. 

"No,"  said  the  mother,  "but  perhaps  he  will  put 
it  into  somebody's  heart  to  buy  you  a  pair." 

"Perhaps  he"  will,  but  I  dorit  believe  it"  said  the 
discouraged  girl. 

"Well,"  said  the  other  sister,  who  was  a  little  more 
hopeful,  "you  won't  get  them  any  quicker  by  fret- 
ting, so  you  might  as  well  be  quiet."  Thus  the  sub- 
ject dropped,  and  the  day  passed  as  usual. 

As  the  shades  of  evening  were  gathering,  a  brother, 
who  lived  at  some  distance,  and  who  knew  nothing 
of  their  previous  conversation,  called  to  inquire  after 
their  prosperity. 

After  the  customary  salutations,  he  said,  "You  have 
been  sick  here  a  long  time  and  I  thought  I  would 
come  round  and  see  if  I  could  not  do  something  for 
you ;  thought  perhaps  by  this  time  the  girls  needed 
something."  Then  turning  to  the  younger  sister,  he 
said,  "How  is  it,  aren't  your  shoes  worn  out?" 

She  dropped  her  eyes,  blushed  deeply,  and  perhaps 
a  little  conscience-smitten,  "answered  not  a  word." 
Nothing  was  said  of  the  previous  conversation,  though 
it  was  not  forgotten  by  those  who  heard  it. 

The  brother  soon  saw  for  himself  enough  to  satisfy 
him,  and  said  no  more  but  went  away.  The  next 
day  two  pairs  of  shoes  were  sent  around  to  her,  and 
with  them  came  to  her  heart  a  lesson  which  she  never 
forgot.  She  lived  many  years  after  that,  but  was 
never  heard  to  murmur  in  that  way  again  ;  and  often 
said  that  the  two  pairs  of  shoes  taught  her  to  wait. 


THE  GUIDING  HAND.  229 

hope,  and  trust,  even  before  she  learned  implicit  con- 
fidence in  Him  who  sendeth  blessings  on  the  just  and 
on  the  unjust.  The  last  time  the  writer  heard  her 
allude  to  the  occurrence,  she  said,  "I  was  speechless 
then,  but  by  the  grace  of  God  I  will  not  be  in  the 
world  to  come."  She  rests  in  hope  of  everlasting 
life  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  and  a  seat  at  the 
marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb,  when  Jesus  comes  to 
reign.  And  this  story  is  recorded  with  the  desire 
that  it  may  lead  some  impatient  one  to  wait,  and 
hope,  and  trust,  and  perhaps  be  a  little  more  patient 
with  these  blessed  mothers  whose  hands  are  so  filled 
with  cares  and  burdens,  but  whose  hearts,  though 
often  weighed  down  with  sorrow  and  grief,  are  yet 
fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord. 


THE  ENGINEER'S  PREMONITION. 

The  following  remarkable  instance  of  deliverance 
from  danger  by  mental  impression  or  premonition, 
was  published  in  the  Home  Monthly  for  February, 
1866,  and  is  but  another  illustration  of  the  care  of 
Him  whose  "tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works :" 

One  of  our  railroad  engineers,  some  years  since, 
was  running  an  express  train  of  ten  filled  cars.  It 
was  in  the  night,  and  a  very  dark  night  too.  His 
train  was  behind  time,  and  he  was  putting  the  engine 
to  the  utmost  speed  of  which  it  was  capable,  in  order 
to  reach  a  certain  point  at  the  proper  hour.  He  was 
running  on  a  straight  and  level  track,  and  at  this 


230  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

unusual  velocity,  when  a  conviction  struck  him  that 
he  must  stop. 

"  A  something  seemed  to  tell  me,"  he  said,  "  that 
to  go  ahead  was  dangerous,  and  that  I  must  stop  if  I 
would  save  life.  I  looked  back  at  my  train  and  it 
was  all  right.  I  strained  my  eyes  and  peered  into 
the  darkness,  and  could  see  no  signal  of  danger,  nor 
anything  betokening  danger,  and  there,  in  the  day- 
time, I  could  have  seen  five  miles.  I  listened  to  the 
working  of  my  engine,  tried  the  water,  looked  at 
the  scales,  and  all  was  right.  I  tried  to  laugh  myself 
out  of  what  I  then  considered  a  childish  fear ;  but,  like 
Banquo's  ghost,  it  would  not  down  at  my  bidding, 
but  grew  stronger  in  its  hold  upon  me.  I  thought 
of  the  ridicule  I  would  have  heaped  upon  me  if  I  did 
stop ;  but  it  was  all  of  no  avail.  The  conviction— 
for  by  this  time  it  had  ripened  into  a  conviction — 
that  I  must  stop,  grew  stronger,  and  I  resolved  to 
do  so.  I  shut  off,  and  blew  the  whistle  for  brakes 
accordingly.  I  came  to  a  dead  halt,  got  off,  and  went 
ahead  a  little  way  without  saying  anything  to  any- 
body what  was  the  matter.  I  had  a  lamp  in  my 
hand,  and  had  gone  but  about  sixty  feet,  when  I  saw 
what  convinced  me  that  premonitions  are  sometimes 
possible.  I  dropped  the  lantern  from  rny  nerveless 
grasp  and  sat  down  on  the  track  utterly  unable  to 
stand." 

He  goes  on  to  tell  us  that  there  he  found  that  some 
one  had  drawn  a  spike  which  had  long  fastened  a 
switch  rail,  and  opened  a  switch  which  always  had 
been  kept  locked,  which  led  on  to  a  track — only 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  231 

about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long — which  ter- 
minated in  a  stone  quarry  ! 

"Here  it  was,  wide  open,  and  had  I  not  obeyed 
my  premonitory  warning, — call  it  what  you  will, — I 
should  have  run  into  it,  and  at  the  end  of  the  track, 
only  about  ten  rods  long,  my  heavy  engine  and  train, 
moving  at  the  rate  of  forty-five  miles  an  hour,  would 
have  come  into  collision  with  a  solid  wall  of  rock 
eighteen  feet  high  !  The  consequences,  had  I  done 
so,  can  neither  be  imagined  nor  described,  but  they 
could  by  no  possibility  have  been  otherwise  than 
fatally  horrible." 

THE  EEPEIEVE. 

Sir  Evan  Nepean,  of  the  Home  Department,  relates 
the  following  respecting  himself.  One  night,  during 
his  office  as  under-secretary,  he  felt  the  most  unac- 
countable wakefulness  that  could  be  imagined ;  he 
was  in  perfect  health,  had  dined  early,  and  had  noth- 
ing whatever  on  his  mind  to  keep  him  awake.  Still 
he  found  all  attempts  to  sleep  impossible,  and  from 
eleven,  till  two  in  the  morning,  he  never  closed  an 
eye.  At  length,  weary  of  this  struggle,  as  the 
summer  morning  was  breaking,  he  determined  to  try 
what  would  be  the  effect  of  a  walk  in  the  park.  There 
he  saw  nothing  but  the  sleepy  sentinels.  But  in  his 
walk,  happening  to  pass  the  House  office  several  times, 
he  thought  of  letting  himself  in  with  his  key,  though 
without  any  particular  object.  The  book  of  entries 
of  the  day  before  still  lay  on  the  table,  and  through 


232  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

sheer  listlessness  he  opened  it.  The  first  thing  he  saw 
appalled  him — "A  reprieve  to  be  sent  to  York  for 
the  coiners  ordered  for  execution."  The  execution 
had  been  ordered  for  the  next  day.  It  struck  him 
that  he  had  received  no  return  to  his  order  to  send 
the  reprieve.  He  searched  the  "minutes."  He  could 
not  find  it  there.  In  alarm  he  went  to  the  house  of 
the  chief  clerk,  who  lived  in  Downing  street,  knocked 
him  up,  (it  was  then  past  three,)  and  asked  him  if 
he  knew  anything  of  the  reprieve  being  sent.  "You 
are  scarcely  awake,"  said  Sir  Evan  ;  "recollect  your- 
self; it  must  have  been  sent." 

The  clerk  said  that  he  now  recollected  he  had  sent 
it  to  the  clerk  of  the  crown,  whose  business  it  was  to 
forward  it  to  York. 

"Good,"  said  Sir  Evan,  "but  have  you  his  receipt 
and  certificate  that  it  has  gone?" 

"No." 

"Then  come  with  me  to  his  house,  we  must  find 
him  if  it  is  early."  It  was  now  four,  and  the  clerk 
of  the  crown  lived  in  Chancery  Lane.  There  was  no 
hackney  coach  to  be  seen  and  they  almost  ran.  They 
were  just  in  time.  The  clerk  of  the  crown  had  a 
country  house,  and  meaning  to  have  a  long  holiday, 
he  was  at  that  moment  stepping  into  his  gig  to  go  to 
his  villa.  Astonished  at  this  visit  of  the  under-sec- 
retary  of  state  at  such  an  hour,  he  was  still  more  so 
at  his  business. 

"Heavens!"  cried  he,  "the  reprieve  is  locked  up 
in  my  desk  !"  It  was  brought.  Sir  Evan  sent  to  the 
post-oifice  for  the  truest  and  fleetest  express.  The 


THE  GUIDING  HAND.  233 

reprieve   reached  York   next   morning  just   at   the 
moment  the  unhappy  men  were  ascending  the  cart. 

With  Sir  Evan  Nepean,  we  fully  agree  in  regarding 
this  little  narrative  as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
that  we  ever  heard.  We  shall  go  further,  even,  than 
he  acknowledged,  and  say  that  to  us  it  appears  as 
striking  evidence  of  what  we  should  conceive  a  supe- 
rior interposition.  It  is  true  that  no  vision  appeared, 
nor  was  any  prompting  voice  audible  ;  yet  the  result 
depended  upon  so  long  a  succession  of  seeming 
chances,  and  each  of  these  chances  was  at  once  so 
improbable  and  so  necessary,  that  we  are  compelled 
to  regard  the  whole  matter  as  of  an  influence  not  to 
be  attributed  to  man.  If  one  link  of  the  chain  might 
pass  for  a  common  .occurrence — as,  undoubtedly,  fits 
of  wakefulness  will  happen  without  any  discoverable 
ground,  in  the  state  of  either  body  or  mind — still, 
what  could  be  less  in  the  common  course  of  things, 
than  that,  thus  waking,  he  should  take  a  walk  in  the 
park  at  two  in  the  morning?  Yet,  if  he  had,  like 
others,  contented  himself  with  taking  a  walk  in  his 
chamber,  or  enjoying  the  cool  air  at  his  window,  not 
one  of  the  succeeding  events  could  have  occurred,  and 
the  men  must  have  been  sacrificed.  Or  if,  when  he 
took  his  walk,  he  had  been  contented  with  getting  rid 
of  the  feverishness  of  the  night,  and  had  returned  to  his 
bed,  the  chain  would  have  been  broken  ;  for  what  was 
more  out  of  the  natural  course  of  events,  than  that  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  idea  should  come  into 
the  head  of  any  man  to  go  into  his  office,  and  sit  down 
in  the  lonely  rooms  of  his  department,  for  no  purpose 


234  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

of  business  or  pleasure,  but  simply  from  not  know- 
ing what  to  do  with  himself? 

Or  if,  when  he  had  let  himself  into  those  solitary 
rooms,  the  book i)f  entries  had  not  lain  on  the  table, — 
and  this  we  presume  to  be  among  the  chances,  as  we 
can  scarcely  suppose  books  of  this  official  importance 
to  be  generally  left  to  their  fate  among  the  servants 
and  messengers  of  the  office  ; — or  if  the  entry,  instead 
of  being  on  the  first  page  that  opened  to  his  eye,  had 
been  on  any  other,  even  the  second,  as  he  never  might 
have  taken  the  trouble  of  turning  the  page  ;  or  if  he 
and  the  chief  clerk  had  been  five  minutes  later  at  the 
clerk  of  the  crown's  house,  and,  instead  of  finding 
him  at  the  moment  of  getting  into  his  carriage,  had 
been  compelled  to  incur  the  delay  of  bringing  him 
back  from  the  country,  all  the  preceding  events  would 
have  been  useless.  The  people  would  have  died  at 
York,  for  even  as  it  was,  there  was  not  a  moment  to 
spare  ;  they  were  stopped  on  the  very  verge  of  exe- 
cution. 

The  remarkable  feature  of  the  whole  is,  that  the 
chain  might  have  been  snapped  at  any  link,  and  that 
every  link  was  equally  important.  In  the  calculation 
of  the  probability  of  any  one  of  these  occurrences,  a 
mathematician  would  find  the  chances  very  hard 
against  the  probability  of  the  whole.  If  it  is  asked, 
whether  a  sufficient  ground  for  this  high  interposition 
is  to  be  discovered,  in  saving  the  lives  of  a  few 
wretched  culprits,  who,  as  frequently  in  such  cases, 
possibly  returned  to  their  wicked  trade  as  soon  as 
they  had  escaped,  and  only  plunged  themselves  into 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  235 

r 

deeper  iniquity ;  the  answer  is,  that  it  is  not  for  us, 
in  our  ignorance,  to  mete  out  the  value  of  a  human 
life. 

Nor  can  we  tell  how  many  praying  fathers,  mothers, 
sisters,  wives,  or  friends,  were  offering  up  unceasing 
intercessions  through  that  silent  night,  on  behalf  of 
those  poor  criminals.  Nor  do  we  know  how  many  of 
them,  in  new-born  penitence  and  faith,  looked  up  to 
God  for  deliverance  when  human  hope  had  failed ; 
nor  yet  what  purposes  of  grace  and  mercy  remained 
to  be  fulfilled  in  those  who  were  rescued  from  so 
great  a  death.  Only  the  facts  of  deliverance  are 
before  us,  to  show  the  power  and  wisdom  of  the 
Guiding  Hand. 

THE  WIDOW'S  PRAYER  ANSWERED. 

In  the  year  1854,  while  residing  in  the  city  of  L., 
Mass. ,  I  became  acquainted  with  a  Bro.  D. ,  who  lived 
there, — a  humble,  faithful,  devoted  man  of  God.  He 
had  a  small  amount  of  money  which  he  felt  inclined  to 
give  to  the  Lord,  if  he  could  understand  where  he 
would  have  it  bestowed.  He  made  the  matter  a  sub- 
ject of  prayer,  telling  the  Lord  to  let  him  know  where 
the  money  should  be  given,  and  it  should  go  freely. 

As  he  was  one  day  walking  along  the  street,  he  sud- 
denly felt  a  strong  impression  of  duty  to  send  at  once 
five  dollars  of  that  money  to  an  old  lady  up  in 
Northern  New  Hampshire,  with  whom  he  had  been 
acquainted  in  former  years,  though  he  could  not  recol- 
lect that  he  had  thought  of  her  before  for  a  long  while, 


236  THE  XJUIDING  HAND. 

and  hence  was  not  acquainted  with  her  circumstances 
at  that  time. 

This  lady  was  eighty  years  old,  and  had  an  invalid 
sister  living  with  her,  upwards  of  seventy.  These 
two  aged  women  Tiad  lived  together  for  years,  and 
maintained  themselves  by  prudence  and  economy,  with 
nothing  to  depend  upon  but  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
their  own  endeavors,  for  the  supply  of  their  wants. 

He  went  immediately  home,  and  told  his  daughter, 
who  did  his  writing  for  him,  to  send  a  letter  to  this 
lady  right  away,  enclosing  five  dollars,  and  tell  her 
that  it  was  from  the  Lord. 

A  few  days  after  he  received  a  letter  from  her — 
which  I  read  at  the  time — thanking  him  for  the 
money,  and  filled  with  praise  and  gratitude  to  God 
for  his  goodness  in  providing  for  her  in  a  time  of 
great  need.  She  had  endeavored  to  live  honestly,  and 
made  it  a  principle  to  meet  all  her  engagements  with 
promptness.  She  had  sometime  previous  to  this  con- 
tracted a  debt  of  about  four  dollars  and  a  half,  and 
the  time  assigned  for  its  payment  was  within  two  or 
three  days  of  its  expiration.  If  she  walked  by  sight 
she  could  perceive  no  visible  way  of  paying  this  debt 
in  the  time  allowed  her.  But  she  had  learned  to  walk 
by  faith,  and  hence  she  went  out  into  her  garden  and 
there  laid  the  matter  before  the  Lord,  pleading  ear- 
nestly his  care  in  providing  the  amount  needed  to  pay 
this  debt  according  to  her  promise. 

On  reading  her  letter,  it  appeared,  by  a  careful 
comparison  of  its  dates  and  statements  with  Bro.  D.'s 
account  of  his  impression,  that  at  the  very  time  when 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  237 

she  was  in  her  garden  on  her  knees,  earnestly  plead- 
ing with  God  to  remember  her  wants  and  provide  her 
the  money  to  pay  this  obligation  of  four  dollars  and 
a  half,  Brother  D.,  about  a  hundred  miles  distant, 
received  a  distinct  impression  of  duty  to  send  her  five 
dollars  of  that  money  which  he  had  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord. 

Such  unmistakable  and  particular  answers  to  the 
prayers  of  God's  children,  may  be  surprising  to  some, 
but  is  there  not  a  more  just  ground  for  surprise  that 
any  who  are  acquainted  with  him,  should  for  one 
moment  question  his  faithful  watch-care  over  the  peo- 
ple whom  he  has  chosen  by  his  grace  and  redeemed 
by  the  blood  of  his  Son. 

THE  B.UKMM  PABSQHAGE. 

No  class  of  men  at  the  present  day  claim  to  attach 
more  value  to  facts  than  the  votaries  of  natural 
science.  We  are  glad  of  it,  for  the  old  adage,  "  One 
fact  is  worth  a  dozen  theories,"  has  always  com- 
mended itself  to  us  as  worthy  of  acceptance.  We 
protest,  however,  against  confining  the  gathering  of 
facts  and  the  reasoning  from  facts,  to  the  natural 
sciences.  We  claim  that  there  are  facts  in  morals 
and  religion  just  as  easily  and  as  fully  verified  as  the 
facts  of  the  sciences. 

Thousands  of  families  at  eventide  bow  down  before 
the  Lord  and  seek  divine  protection  from  the  unseen 
dangers  of  the  night.  Are  their  prayers  answered  ? 
The  skeptic  may  deny  it,  but  facts  are  worth  more 


238  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

than  assertions.  We  give  one  out  of  the  thousands 
that  can  be  mentioned.  It  is  from  the  well-known 
pastor  of  the  Nyack  Presbyterian  church,  New  York, 
furnished  by  him  to  the  Sunday  School  Times, 
Philadelphia.  It-is  as  follows  : — 

"As  we  are  about  to  mail  this  from  our  delightful 
Nyack  Parsonage,  so  generously  enlarged  and  im- 
proved by  our  kind  congregation, — property,  and 
perhaps  life  has  been  saved  by  a  most  signal  answer 
to  prayer.  We  had  just  come  into  the  study  from 
family  worship,  and  this  text  came  into  my  mind,— 
'The  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by  the  Lord,' 
—then  a  voice  seemed  to  say,  *  Go  outside  of  the 
house,  and  six  feet  from  the  corner  put  your  hand 
upon  the  weather-boarding.'  We  did  so  immediately, 
and  found  the  boards  almost  too  hot  for  the  touch. 
We  sent  for  several  neighbors.  The  fire  company 
No.  1,  was  promptly  on  hand,  and  the  instant  the 
axe  went  through  the  boards,  a  bouquet  of  flame  burst 
forth,  but  the  strong  arms  at  the  engine  soon  deluged 
the  burning  boards  and  studding  with  water,  and  we 
were  saved.  The  instance  is  all  the  more  remarkable, 
as  no  one  had  detected  the  slightest  trace  of  fire. 
And  now,  as  the  last  of  the  crowd  has  left  the  par- 
sonage yard,  and  the  fire  bells  are  no  longer  heard, 
we  are  impressed  with  the  series  of  providences  which 
have  saved  us  from  awakening  in  midnight  flames 
around  our  sleeping  children.  And  now,  while  kind 
friends  come  in  to  congratulate  us  and  ask  for  a 
recital  of  the  story,  we  declare  that  more  than  ever 
we  believe  in  the  God  of  Daniel." 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  239 

THE  SAVED  RAILWAY  TRAIN. 

The  strange  and  mysterious  agencies  by  which  the 
Lord  interposes  for  the  prevention  of  calamity,  and 
the  preservation  of  human  life,  have  often  been 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  reader.  The  following 
is  another  instance  worthy  the  attention  of  the  con- 
siderate : 

Sometime  in  the  Autumn  of  the  year  186 — ,  a  great 
political  gathering — a  Union  meeting — was  held  at 
Mansfield,  Ohio,  which  was  attended  by  many  citi- 
zens from  a  distance,  who  went  thither  by  rail,  over 
the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western,  and  other  railroads 
converging  to  that  point ; — the  Atlantic  and  Great 
Western  road  passing  eastward  through  the  state  of 
Ohio,  and  thence  into  Pennsylvania  and  New  York. 

On  Monday  night  a  farmer  in  Pennsylvania  retired 
to  rest  amid  a  heavy  and  protracted  storm  which 
arose,  and  dreaming  that  the  high  embankment  near 
his  house,  which  was  built  across  a  chasm  some  hun- 
dred feet  deep,  had  given  way  under  a  passenger 
train,  and  let  it  down  into  the  abyss,  he  sprang  from 
his  bed,  ran  to  the  door,  and  was  hastening  away  to 
render  assistance  to  the  passengers,  when  his  wife 
awakened  him  from  his  sleep  and  enquired  what  was 
the  matter. 

He  related  his  startling  dream,  and  returned  to  his 
bed  again,  but  could  sleep  but  very  little  during  the 
night ;  and  the  impression  made  upon  his  mind  by 
the  dream  was  so  deep  that  he  hastened  to  the  chasm 
early  next  morning,  to  see  what  condition  it'  was  in. 


240  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

On  arriving  there  he  found  the  embankment  standing, 
and  the  road  apparently  safe,  although  a  torrent  of 
water  poured  and  surged  through  the  culvert  as 
though  it  would  wash  the  whole  away. 

Tuesday  passed,  and  on  Tuesday  night  the  farmer 
retired  to  rest  as  usual,  but  could  not  sleep.  That 
dream  haunted  him,  nor  could  he  rid  his  mind  of  the 
thoughts  of  the  dangerous  gulf  that  he  had  seen.  He 
at  length  arose  from  his  bed  and  hurried  to  the  spot. 
Imagine  his  horror,  when  he  found  that  "the  fill"  had 
been  washed  out,  leaving  nothing  but  the  unsupported 
ties  and  track  across  the  fearful  chasm,  while,  as  he 
listened,  he  could  hear  in  the  distance  the  thundering 
roar  of  the  approaching  train  of  cars.  Clambering 
across  the  dreadful  break,  he  ran  with  all  his  might 
to  meet  the  train,  and  signalled  it  to  stop.  And  so 
short  was  the  warning  that  by  the  time  the  engineer 
was  able  to  hold  up,  the  engine  was  but  a  few  feet 
distant  from  the  brink  of  the  chasm. 

The  train  was  a  large  one,  and  was  filled  with  per- 
sons who  had  been  at  Mansfield,  attending  the  Union 
meeting  there,  and  who  were  struck  with  awe  at  their 
narrow  escape.  Had  it  not  been  for  that  startling 
dream  of  the  preceding  night,  and  the  strange  unrest 
which  hurried  the  farmer  from  his  bed  to  give  them 
the  alarm,  the  train  would  have  plunged  down  the 
frightful  precipice,  car  on  car,  crushing  the  crowded 
mass  of  humanity  into  shapelessness  and  death,  amid 
the  wreck  of  the  train  and  the  surgings  of  the  swollen 
flood.  The  train  was  saved,  the  farmer  related  his 
story,  and  a  handsome  pecuniary  testimonial  told  of 


THE   GUIDING    HAND.  241 

a  gratitude  to  him  which  words  could  not  convey ; 
and  it  may  be  hoped  that  from  many  a  heart  arose  a 
more  devout  thanksgiving  to  Him  who  preserve th 
our  lives  from  destruction  by  his  gracious  and  mys- 
terious providence,  and  whose  tender  mercies  are 
over  all  his  works. 

The  facts  above  related  are  given  on  the  authority 
of  the  Dayton,  Ohio,  Journal,  to  which  they  were 
communicated  by  Mr.  Robertson,  the  mail  agent  on 
the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  railroad,  between 
Dayton  and  Cleveland  ; — Mr.  Robertson  having  con- 
versed with  the  farmer  and  received  the  circumstances 
from  his  OAVU  lips.  And  such  inquiry  as  we  have 
since  been  able  to  make  leads  us  to  credit  the  account. 


PKOVIDENCE  ABOVE  LAW. 

Providence  is  a  manifestation  of  God's  power  and 
care.  He  is  the  author  of  all  first  principles.  Every 
object  in  nature  is  impressed  with  the  Maker's  seal, 
and  each  new  day  repeats  the  wonders  of  creation. 
Nor  is  there  an  object,  be  it  pebble  or  pearl,  the 
flower-sprinkled  meadow  beneath  or  the  star-spangled 
vault  above,  a  drop  of  water  or  a  boundless  ocean, 
in  which  intelligence  may  not  discern,  and  piety 
adore,  the  providence  of  God. 

The  laws  of  God  are  adapted  to  general  action, 
and  are  without  change.  God  saw  in  the  material 
creation  a  demand  for  certain  immutable  laws,  and 
his  wisdom  so  arranged  the  code  that  they  have 


242  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

moved  onward  in  harmony  with  the  first  design. 
Human  and  vegetable  nature  is  the  same  as  in  the 
past,  and  will  continue  to  be,  thus  demanding  the 
same  laws  for  its  regulation.  The  penalty  of  these 
natural  laws  re'mains  the  same  as  when  they  received 
validity  by  the  divine  sanction. 

But  above  and  beyond  the  action  of  general  law, 
there  seems  to  be  another  source  of  power — another 
code  or  system,  which  takes  cognizance  of  affairs 
which  are  transient  and  occasional  in  their  character. 
These  changing  scenes  are  fragments  that  come  be- 
tween the  drawn  lines  of  universal  law,  and  demand 
an  especial  interposition  for  their  direction.  Under 
this  peculiar  arrangement,  God  manifests  himself  in 
individual  warnings,  premonitions,  and  deliverances. 

God  has  foreseen  the  necessities  and  demands  of 
coming  events,  and  has  prepared  for  their  reception. 
He  regards  the  good  of  his  creatures  in  general.  His 
people  Israel  w^ere  suffering  as  bondmen  in  Egypt, 
and  in  the  fullness  of  time  he  raised  up  from  among 
them  a  leader  just  qualified  to  emancipate  them,  and 
guide  them  to  the  land  of  promise.  There  have  been 
other  men  providentially  raised  up  as  leaders  and 
reformers,  just  fitted  to  meet  the  demands  and  emer- 
gencies of  nations  and  armies. 

But  there  are  direct  interpositions  of  the  Divine 
Hand.  A  lad  was  returning  from  school  in  a  shower, 
and  sought  shelter  in  a  hollow  oak  from  the  falling 
rain.  While  there  he  heard  a  voice  saying,  "  Come 
away,  come  away ;"  and  supposing  some  person  was 
calling,  he  hastened,  and  had  gone  but  a  short 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  243 

distance  before  the  tree  was  prostrate  by  lightning. 
Here  the  natural,  unchangeable  laws  were  at  work, 
and  the  clouds,  charged  with  electricity,  were  pre- 
paring the  deadly  bolt,  but  God  then  put  forth  a 
particular  care  and  rescued  the  helpless  from  death. 

Two  brothers  were  hundreds  of  miles  distant  from 
each  other ;  on  a  morning  one  was  impressed  that 
the  other  was  dead  ;  he  prepared  himself  and  went  to 
his  brother's  residence  to  find  him  a  corpse. 

I  was  fifty  miles  from  my  home  and  in  excellent 
spirits,  when  at  once  a  tremulous,  solemn  feeling 
came  over  me,  and  I  could  hardly  stand.  I  informed 
my  friends  that  I  had  peculiar  impressions,  and  feared 
my  family  were  sick.  That  evening,  while  in  a 
meeting,  a  lad  brought  a  letter  in  which  I  learned 
that  my  little  boy  was  very  ill.  I  hastened  to  my 
home  only  to  see  him  die.  I  have  never  since  had 
any  such  emotions. 

There  are  unseen  powers  continually  acting,  and 
there  are  mediums  of  communication  between  the 
Infinite  and  finite  which  to  us  are  mysterious.  God 
feeds  the  starving  poor  under  this  order,  and  rescues 
some  helpless  mortal  from  the  jaws  of  death.  A 
gentleman  was  going  on  a  certain  train,  looked  at 
his  watch  and  supposed  he  was  in  time.  The  watch 
had  stopped  for  the  first  time;  he  was  too  late,  and 
that  train  was  throwrn  over  an  embankment  and 
nearly  all  killed.  That  man  is  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel  and  has  led  thousands  to  Christ.  He  that  is 
wise  and  will  observe  these  things  shall  understand 
the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord. 


244  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

"GO  TO  THE  POST-OFFICE." 

"In  the  year  18 — ,  having  a  brother  living  in  the 
city  of  R.,  I  went  to  see  him.  Going  to  the  store 
where  he  had  ^been  at  work,  I  found  the  firm  had 
suspended,  and  that  he  was  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment, and  had  broken  up  housekeeping ;  but  could 
not  ascertain  where  he  was,  only  that  he  was  board- 
ing somewhere  out  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  I 
searched  for  him  all  day,  but  in  vain. 

"It  was  necessary  thai  I  should  find  him.  What 
more  to  do  I  knew  not  except  to  pray.  Finally  I 
was  impressed  to  write  a  line  and  drop  it  into  the 
post-office ,  and  I  obeyed  the  impression,  telling  him 
if  he  got  it,  to  meet  me  at  a  stated  place  the  next 
morning  at  ten  o'clock. 

"I  prayed  earnestly  that  the  Lord  would  cause 
him  to  go  to  the  post-office  so  that  he  might  get  my 
letter.  I  felt  full  of  peace,  and  at  rest  about  the 
matter.  The  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock  I  went  to 
the  place  appointed  for  him  to  meet  me,  and  he  soon 
came  in. 

"There  is  nothing  in  all  this  that  is  remarkable, 
says  the  doubter  of  special  providences,  but  wait  a 
little.  As  we  were  walking  along  the  street  toward 
his  boarding  place  he  said,  *  There  is  something 
strange  about  my  going  to  the  post-office  this  morn- 
ing. I  had  my  arrangements  all  made  to  go  with  a 
party  this  morning  early  to  the  Bay,  fishing,  but 
when  I  awoke,  I  had  such  an  impression  to  go  down 
to  the  post-office,  that  I  had  to  forego  the  pleasure  of 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  245 

going  to  the  Bay,  and  went  to  the  office  and  found 
your  letter.  Spiritualists'  (for  he  boarded  with  a 
family  of  table-tippers)  '  would  say  it  was  the  spirits/ 

"I  replied,  'It  was  the  Lord  that  impressed  you 
in  answer  to  my  prayer,  for  I  prayed  earnestly  for 
the  Lord  to  send  you  to  the  post-office  this  morning  ; ' 
and  although  young  in  years  and  in  religion ,  I  tried 
to  give  God  the  praise  for  his  guidance  and  his  grace." 

How  many  remarkable  answers  to  prayer  does  the 
humble  child  of  God  have,  to  strengthen  his  faith  and 
encourage  his  heart  to  heed  the  word  that  says,*4  Be 
careful  for  nothing  ;  but  in  everything  by  prayer  and 
supplication  with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be 
made  known  unto  God." 


CAPTAIN  HAEEIS. 

"  Jehovah  -Jireh  ;  the  Lord  will  provide." 

The  truth  of  the  following  anecdote  may  be  de- 
pended upon,  and  as  it  shows  the  incessant  and 
watchful  care  of  Providence  over  a  chastened  heir  of 
glory,  and  that  at  a  time  of  unfathomable  and  com- 
plicated distress,  it  may  contribute  to  encourage  some 
of  the  tried  saints  of  God  to  confide  in  him,  in  their 
journey  through  this  world  to  a  better. 

Captain  Harris  was  taken  prisoner  in  the  war 
between  England  and  France,  and  carried  to  Dunkirk. 
During  his  imprisonment  he  was  observed  to  be  much 
depressed  in  mind,  and,  in  general,  very  pensive  and 
thoughtful.  And  when  an  order  came  from  the 
French  government  to  remove  the  prisoners  to  Ver- 


246  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

sallies  (a  distance  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles 
up  the  country) ,  his  anxiety  and  perplexity  seemed 
to  be  much  increased.  Being  of  a  very  reserved 
disposition,  he  kept  his  troubles  to  himself.  They 
therefore  preyed  incessantly  on  his  spirits. 

But  a  morning  or  two  before  they  marched  to 
Versailles,  a  Frenchman  came  into  the  prison,  and 
made  the  following  remarkable  declaration:  "There 
is  some  person  in  this  prison  in  great  distress  of  mind 
for  want  of  money.  Who  it  is  I  know  not ;  but  the 
moment  I  see  him  I  shall  know  him,  for  his  person 
and  circumstances  were  so  impressed  on  my  mind  in 
a  dream  last  night,  that  I  cannot  be  mistaken  !"  The 
moment  the  Frenchman  saw  Captain  H.  he  said, 
* '.  That's  the  man ! "  He  immediately  asked  him  if 
he  was  not  distressed  for  money ;  and  before  he 
could  receive  an  answer,  he  offered  to  lend  him  forty 
pounds.  Captain  H.  was  struck  with  wonder  and 
amazement,  that  a  stranger,  and  an  enemy,  should, 
in  a  strange  land,  make  such  an  offer  to  a  man  in  his 
circumstances. 

He  then  informed  him  that  he  had  been  very 
unsuccessful,  and  had  encountered  many  difficulties 
in  his  last  voyage ;  that  he  had  been  taken  with 
his  ship  and  cargo,  and  had  lain  in  that  prison  for 
some  time ;  that  he  had  expected  remittances  from 
England,  but  had  been  disappointed.  That  he 
understood  that  the  prisoners  were  to  be  removed  to 
Versailles  ;  that  all  his  money  was  expended  except 
fourpence,  and  that  he  had  expected  to  die  on  the 
road  for  want.  The  Frenchman  then  pressed  him 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  247 

hard  to  take  forty  pounds  ;  but  he  would  only  accept 
three  guineas,  supposing  that  sum  would  supply  all 
his  wants  till  he  received  remittances  from  England. 
Captain  H.  had  feared  the  Lord  from  the  time  that 
he  was  seven  years  of  age,  but  nevertheless  was  now 
in  distress.  After  the  Lord  had  tried  him,  however, 
(and  he  trieth  all  the  righteous)  he  thus  arose  for 
his  help,  and  impressed  the  mind  of  a  stranger  and 
an  enemy,  perhaps  a  French  deist,  to  have  compas- 
sion on  him,  and  that  at  the  very  moment  when  his 
soul  was  fainting  within  him.  Captain  Harris,  subse- 
quently, was  very  successful,  and  was  afterward,  says 
the  narrator,  in  opulent  circumstances. 


"GO  TO  EOTTEEDAM." 

In  the  year  1681,  a  gentleman  who  lived  near  Aber- 
deen, came  to  town  on  purpose  to  ask  advice  of  some 
of  the  ministers.  He  told  them  he  had  an  impression 
continually  following  him,  to  go  to  Eotterdam.  They 
asked  him,  "For  what  reason?"  But  he  could  tell 
none ;  on  which  they  advised  him  to  stay  at  home. 
Some  time  after  he  came  again,  and  informed  them, 
"Either  I  must  go  to  Rotterdam,  or  die  ;  for  this  im- 
pression follows  me  day  and  night,  so  that  I  can  neither 
eat,  nor  drink,  nor  sleep."  They  then  advised  him  to 
go.  Accordingly  he  embarked  and  went  to  Rotterdam. 

As  he  was  landing,  his  foot  slipped,  and  he  fell  into 
the  sea.  A  gentleman  who  was  walking  on  the  quay, 
leaped  in  and  caught  hold  of  him,  brought  him  out, 
and  conducted  him  to  an  inn.  He  then  procured 


248  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

some  dry  linen  for  him,  and  a  warm  bed,  in  which  he 
slept  soundly  for  several  hours.  When  he  awoke,  he 
found  the  gentleman  sitting  by  the  bedside,  who, 
taking  it  for  granted  he  would  be  hungry,  had  be- 
spoken a  dinner  5  -which,  to  his  great  satisfaction,  was 
immediately  served  up.  The  Scotch  gentleman  desired 
the  other  to  ask  a  blessing,  which  he  did  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  quite  surprised  him.  But  he  was  still  more 
surprised,  both  at  the  spirit  and  language  in  which  he 
returned  thanks ;  and  asked  him,  "Sir,  are  not  you  a 
minister?"  He  answered,  "I  am;  but  I  was,  some 
time  since,  banished  from  Scotland."  The  other  re- 
plied, "Sir,  I  observed,  though  you  behaved  quite 
decently,  you  seemed  extremely  hungry.  Pray,  per- 
mit me  to  ask,  how  long  is  it  since  you  took  any 
food?"  He  said,  "Eight  and  forty  hours  ;"  on  which 
the  Scot  started  up,  and  said,  "Now  I  know  why  God 
sent  me  to  Rotterdam.  You  shall  want  for  nothing 
any  more  ;  I  have  enough  for  us  both. ' '  Shortly  after, 
the  revolution  ensued,  and  he  was  reinstated  in  his 
living. 

THE  WIDOW'S  WOOD. 

The  following  incident,  showing  the  care  of  God 
for  his  trusting  children,  and  his  willingness  to  sup- 
ply their  temporal,  as  well  as  their  spiritual  neces- 
sities, is  related  by  a  minister  of  the  gospel  residing 
in  the  state  of  Maine  : 

In  the  year  1832,  there  lived  in  the  town  of  Mer- 
cer, Maine,  a  widow  woman  named  Safford,  who  was 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  249 

left  with  three  children  to  provide  for,  and  who  had 
nothing  by  which  to  support  them  but  the  labor  of 
her  own  hands,  and  the  providence  of  her  heavenly 
Father. 

Of  course  she  had  the  ordinary  trials  and  hard- 
ships of  poverty  to  encounter,  but  her  trust  was  in 
the  Father  of  the  fatherless,  and  the  God  of  widows, 
and  she  believed  that  he  would  so  supply  their  needs 
that  they  should  lack  for  no  good  thing. 

In  this  trust  she  lived  as  others  lived,  and  the 
worldling  perhaps  could  see  no  special  care  of  God 
in  her  case,  but  only  the  ordinary  course  of  events 
as  regulated  by  the  general  laws  of  labor  and  reward. 

But  at  length  winter  came  with  its  piercing  cold, 
and  howling  winds,  and  drifting  snow;  and  a  severe 
storm  occurring  near  the  close  of  the  week,  accom- 
panied with  bitter  cold,  prevented  her  securing  her 
usual  store  of  supplies,  and  Sunday  morning  found 
her  with  only  wood  enough  to  make  a  single  fire. 

That  fire  was  kindled,  and  burned  itself  nearly 
out.  There  was  nothing  to  renew  it,  and  the  daugh- 
ter, not  knowing  where  the  next  would  come  from, 
asked  her  mother  if  they  should  not  bury  up  the  last 
remaining  brand  in  the  ashes,  and  so  preserve  it  for 
a  little  while. 

The  mother  said,  "No  ;"  and  with  Bible  in  hand  de- 
clared her  trust  in  the  Lord's  promises,  and  her  cer- 
tainty that  he  would  supply  their  needs  ;  and  though 
the  children  doubtingly  queried  whether  her  faith 
was  well  founded,  she  still  trusted  in  her  God. 

On  that  same  Sunday  morning,  a  Christian  woman, 


250  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

the  wife  of  a  Methodist  minister,  not  living  far  dis- 
tant, entered  into  her  closet  to  pray  and  hold  com- 
munion with  the  Lord.  As  she  sought  the  blessing 
and  direction  of  her  heavenly  Father,  something 
seemed  to  say  to-  her,  "  Go  and  send  Mrs.  Safford 
some  wood." 

This  seemed  like  a  very  strange  direction — to  go 
to  drawing  wood  on  Sunday — and  so  she  at  once  dis- 
missed the  thought  as  a  freak  of  her  own  imagina- 
tion, and  like  a  pious  woman,  as  she  was,  sat  down 
to  read  the  Bible.  Now  reading  the  Bible  seems 
like  a  much  more  appropriate  employment  for  such 
a  day  as  that,  than  drawing  wood  to  the  neighbors  ; 
but  when  the  Lord  of  Sabbaths,  who  taught  that  no 
day  was  too  good  to  do  good  in,  calls  us  to  care  for 
those  in  need,  reading  the  Bible,  and  praying,  and 
going  to  meeting,  do  not  answer  the  purpose.  And 
so  the  Bible  did  not  seem  to  read  at  all  good.  It 
seemed  dark,  and  dull,  and  stale,  as  if  it  was  a 
sealed  book,  and  so  she  thought  she  would  go  away 
and  pray  again.  She  did  so  ;  and  again  the  inward 
monitor  seemed  to  say,  "Send  Mrs.  Safford  some 
wood." 

She  hesitated  no  longer,  but  told  the  boys  to  fill 
the  hand-sled  with  wood,  and  drag  it  through  the 
snow  to  Mrs.  Safford's,  saying,  "I  do  not  know  as 
she  needs  any,  but  I  must  send  it." 

Just  as  the  widow's  daughters  were  looking  at  the 
last  consuming  brand,  and  were  expressing  their 
doubts  about  their  future  prospects,  while  the  widow 
was  declaring  her  unshaken  confidence  in  the  prom- 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  251 

ises  and  providence  of  God,  the  boys  came  with  the 
hand-sled  loaded,  and  cut  short  the  train  of  argument 
by  unloading  wood  enough  to  last  them  till  their  strait 
was  over  and  wood  came  again. 

The  widow's  children  learned  a  lesson  of  faith  in 
God  that  day ;  the  mother  had  another  proof  of  the 
heavenly  Father's  care,  which  has  preserved  her  to 
trust  in  God  even  until  now ;  the  minister's  wife 
learned  a  lesson  of  obedience  to  divine  direction ; 
and  through  this  record  of  the  facts,  it  is  hoped  that 
the  reader  will  learn  to  trust  the  goodness  of 
God's  providence,  and  to  follow  the  dictation  of  his 
Holy  Spirit. 

r 

THE  IMPEEILED  CHILD. 

I  am  no  believer  in  the  supernatural.  I  never  saw 
any  ghosts ;  never  heard  any  strange  noises  ;  none, 
at  least,  that  could  not  be  accounted  for  on  natural 
principles.  I  never  saw  lights  around  the  bed  or 
heard  knocks  on  the  head-board  which  proved  to  be 
"forerunners"  of  sickness  or  death;  I  never  had 
dreams  "come  to  pass,"  and  to  spirits,  in  the  common 
acceptance  of  the  term,  since  the  days  of  the  Fox 
girls,  my  very  presence  has  been  always  a  damper. 
I  am  not  of  that  sort  who  are  always  on  the  look-out 
for  signs  and  wonders  ;  and  if  want  of  faith  in  spirit- 
ualization  or  supernaturalism  is  a  sin,  I  ought  to  have 
been  the  last  one  to  look  for  so  marked  a — you  may 
name  it  what  you  please,  I  call  it  Divine  interposition 
— as  the  one  I  am  about  to  relate ;  all  the  witnesses 


252  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

to  which — and  they  are  not  a  few — are  still  living. 

One  bitter  cold  day  in  winter  a  merry  party  of  us, 
nestled  down  under  furry  robes,  went  to  meet  an 
appointment  with  a  friend  living  a  few  miles  distant, 
with  whom  we  were  to  spend  the  afternoon,  and  in 
the  evening  attend  a  concert  to  be  held  near  by. 
The  sleighing  was  delightful,  the  air  keen  and  inspir- 
iting, the  host  and  hostess  genial  as  the  crackling  fires 
in  the  grates,  and  the  invited  guests,  of  whom  there 
were  many  besides  ourselves,  in  that  peculiar  visiting 
trim  which  only  old-time  friends,  long  parted,  can 
enjoy.  Restraint  was  thrown  aside ;  we  cracked 
jokes ;  we  chattered  like  magpies,  and  talked  not  a 
little  of  the  coming  concert,  which  promised  a  rare 
treat  to  our  unsophisticatd  ears.  All  went  merry  as 
a  marriage  bell,  and  merrier  than  some,  till  just  before 
tea,  when  I  was  seized  with  a  sudden  and  unaccount- 
able desire  to  go  home,  accompanied  by  a  dread  or 
fear  of  something,  I  knew  not  what,  which  made  the 
return  appear  not  a  matter  of  choice,  but  a  thing 
imperative.  I  tried  to  reason  it  away;  to  revive 
anticipations  of  the  concert ;  I  thought  of  the  disap- 
pointment it  would  be  to  those  who  came  with  me  to 
give  it  up,  and  running  over  in  my  mind  the  condi- 
tion in  which  things  were  left  at  home,  could  find  no 
ground  for  alarm. 

For  many  years  a  part  of  the  house  had  been  rented 
to  a  trusty  family ;  our  children  were  often  rocked  in 
the  same  cradle,  and  half  the  time  ate  at  the  same 
table;  locks  and  bolts  were  things  unused,  and  in 
deed  as  in  word  we  were  neighbors.  In  their  care 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  253 

had  been  left  a  boy  of  ten  years,  the  only  one  of  our 
faniily  remaining  at  home,  who  knew  that  when  he 
returned  from  school  he  was  expected  to  bring  in 
wood  and  kindlings  for  the  morning  fire,  take  supper 
alone  or  with  little  Clara  E.,  as  he  diose,  and  other- 
wise pass  the  time  as  he  pleased,  only  that  he  must 
not  go  into  the  street  to  play  or  on  the  pond  to 
skate.  He  had  been  left  many  times  in  this  way,  and 
had  never  given  occasion  for  the  slightest  uneasiness  ; 
still,  as  this  nameless  fear  grew  upon  me,  it  took  the 
form  of  a  conviction  that  danger  of  some  sort  threat- 
ened this  beloved  child. 

I  was  rising  to  go  and  ask  Mr.  A.  to  take  me  home, 
when  some  one  said,  *  'You  are  very  pale ;  are  you 
ill?" 

4 'No, "I  answered,  and  dropping  back  in  the  chair, 
told  them  how  strangely  I  had  been  exercised  for  the 
last  few  minutes,  adding,  "I  really  must  go  home." 

There  was  a  perfect  chorus  of  voices  against  it,  and 
for  a  little  time  I  was  silenced,  though  not  convinced. 
Some  one  laid  the  matter  before  Mr.  A.,  who  replied, 
"Nonsense  !  Eddie  is  a  good  boy  to  mind,  would  do 
nothing  in  our  absence  that  he  would  not  do  if  we 
were  there,  and  is  enjoying  himself  well  at  this  mo- 
ment, I'll  warrant." 

This  answer  was  brought  to  me  in  triumph,  and  I 
resolved  to  do  as  they  said,  "not  think  about  it." 
But  at  tea  my  trembling  hand  almost  refused  to  carry 
food  to  my  lips,  and  I  found  it  utterly  impossible  to 
swallow  a  mouthful.  A  death-like  chill  crept  over 
me,  and  I  knew  that  every  eye  was  on  me,  as  I  left 


254  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

the  room.  Mr.  A.  rose,  saying  in  a  changed  voice, 
and  without  ceremony,  *  'Make  haste  ;  bring  the  horse 
round  ;  we  must  go  right  away.  I  never  saw  her  in 
such  a  state  before;  there  is  something  in  it."  He 
followed  me  into  the  parlor,  but  before  he  could  speak 
I  was  pleading  as  for  dear  life  that  not  a  moment  be 
lost  in  starting  for  home  ;  "I  know,"  said  I,  "it  is  not 
all  imagination  ;  and  whether  it  is  or  not,  I  shall  cer- 
tainly die  if  this  incubus  is  not  removed  shortly." 

All  was  now  confusion ;  the  tea  table  deserted,  the 
meal  scarce  tasted;  and  my  friends,  alarmed  as  much 
at  my  looks  as  at  my  words,  were  as  anxious  to  hurry 
me  off  as  they  had  before  been  to  detain  me.  To  me 
those  terrible  moments  seemed  hours,  yet  I  am  assured 
that  not  more  than  half  an  hour  elapsed  from  the  time 
my  fears  first  found  expression  before  we  were  on  the 
road  toward  home.  A  horse  somewhat  noted  for 
fleetness  was  before  us,  and  with  only  two  in  the 
cutter — the  rest  staid  to  the  concert,  and  made  Mr. 
A.  promise  if  nothing  had  happened  he  would  return 
— we  went  over  the  road  at  a  rapid  pace.  I  knew 
from  the  frequent  repetition  of  a  peculiar  signal  that 
the  beast  was  being  urged  to  his  best,  yet  I  grew 
sick  with  impatience  at  the  restraint.  I  A^anted  to 
fly.  All  this  while  my  fears  had  taken  no  definite 
shape.  I  only  knew  that  the  child  was  in  danger, 
and  felt  impelled  to  hurry  to  the  rescue.  Only  once 
was  the  silence  broken  in  that  three-mile  journey, 
and  that  was  when,  on  reaching  an  eminence  from 
which  the  house  was  in  full  view,  I  said,  " Thank  God, 
the  house  isn't  on  fire  !" 


THE    GUIDING    HAND  255 

"That  was  my  own  thought,"  said  Mr.  A. ;  but  there 
was  no  slackening  of  speed.  On  nearing  home  a 
cheerful  light  was  glimmering  from  Mrs.  E.'s  window. 
Before  the  vehicle  had  fairly  stopped  we  were  clear 
of  it,  and  opening  the  door,  said,  in  the  same  breath, 
" Where's  Eddie?" 

" Eddie?  why,  he  was  here  a  little  while  ago," 
answered  Mrs.  E.,  pleasantly,  striving  to  dissipate 
the  alarm  she  saw  written  on  our  countenances.  "He 
ate  supper  with  the  children,  and  played  awhile  at 
marbles ;  then  spoke  of  Libby  Rose's  having  a  new 
picture-book,  and  that  he  wanted  to  see  it.  You  will 
find  him  over  there." 

With  swift  steps  Mr.  A.  crossed  the  street  to  the 
place  mentioned,  and  returned  with,  "He  has  not  been 
there."  Eddie  was  remarkably  fond  of  skating,  and 
my  next  thought  was  that  he  had  been  tempted  to 
disobedience.  I  said,  calmly,  "We  will  go  to  the 
pond."  I  was  perfectly  collected;  I  could  have 
worked  all  night  without  fatigue  with  the  nerves  in 
that  state  of  tension,  but  Mr.  A.  said,  "No,  you  must 
go  in  and  lie  down.  Eddie  is  safe  enough,  some- 
where about  the  village.  I'll  go  and  find  him."  But 
there  was  nothing  in  the  tone  as  in  the  words  to  re- 
assure me. 

As  he  spoke  he  crossed  the  hall  to  our  own  room, 
and  turned  the  knob.  The  door  was  locked.  What 
could  that  mean  ?  Eddie  was  either  on  the  inside  or 
had  taken  the  key  away  with  him.  Mr.  A.  ran  round 
to  a  window  with  a  broken  spring,  which  could  be 
opened  from  the  outside.  It  went  up  with  a  clang, 


256  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

but  a  dense  volume  of  smoke  drove  him  back.  After 
an  instant  another  attempt  was  made,  and  this  time, 
on  a  lounge  directly  under  the  window,  he  stumbled 
on  the  insensible  form  of  little  Eddie,  smothered  in 
smoke  I  Limp  and  apparently  lifeless,  he  was  borne 
into  the  fresh,  cold  air,  and  after  some  rough  handling 
was  restored  to  consciousness. 

From  that  hour  I  think  I  have  known  how  Abraham 
felt  when  he  lifted  Isaac  from  the  altar  unharmed ,  in 
obedience  to  the  command  of  the  angel  of  the  Lord. 
True,  I  had  been  subjected  to  no  such  trial  of  strength 
and  faith;  my  Father  knew  I  would  have  shrunk 
utterly  before  it ;  yet,  if  it  was  not  a  similar  messen- 
ger that  whispered  to  me  in  the  midst  of  that  gay 
party  an  hour  previous,  I  have  no  wish  to  be  con- 
vinced of  it ;  and  were  the  book  placed  in  my  hands 
which  I  knew  had  power  to  rob  me  of  this  sweet  be- 
lief, I  would  never  open  it. 

Eddie  said,  on  returning  from  school  he  made  a 
good  fire,  and  as  the  wood  was  snowy,  thought  he 
would  put  it  in  the  oven  to  dry, — something  he  had 
never  done  before.  Then,  on  leaving  Mrs.  E.'s  room, 
he  went  in  for  an  apple  before  going  to  see  Libby 
Rose's  picture-book,  and  it  seemed  so  nice  and  warm 
he  thought  he  would  lie  down  awhile.  He  could  give 
no  explanation  as  to  what  prompted  him  to  turn  the 
key, — it  was  the  first  and  last  time, — but  this  could 
have  made  no  difference  in  the  result,  for  no  one 
would  have  discovered  the  smoke  in  time  to  save  his 
life.  The  wood  in  the  stove  had  burned  to  ashes, 
but  as  the  doors  were  closed,  there  was  no  danger  of 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  257 

falling  embers  setting  the  house  on  fire  ;  and  had  we 
staid  to  the  concert  everything  would  have  been  as 
we  left  it,  except  that  little  Eddie's  voice  would  never 
more  have  made  music  for  our  ears.  Every  one  said 
that  with  a  delay  of  five  or  even  three  minutes  we 
should  have  been  too  late. 

Many  years  have  passed  since  then,  yet  now,  when 
the  lamp  of  faith  burns  dim,  and  God  and  his  prom- 
ises seem  a  great  way  off,  I  have  only  to  go  back  to 
this — the  first,  the  last,  and  only  manifestation  of  this 
nature — to  feel  that  as  a  father  careth  for  his  children, 
so  careth  he  for  us.  " Deliver  us  from  evil,  for  thine 
is  the  power,"  is  no  mere  formality,  but  words  preg- 
nant with  meaning. 

THE  DKOWNIM  LADY. 

The  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  resulting 
in  the  preservation  of  life  and  the  salvation  of  souls, 
is  seldom  more  clearly  shown  than  in  the  following 
incident : — 

A  gay  lady  in  New  England  once  had  occasion  to 
go  to  a  neighboring  town,  where  she  had  often  been 
before.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  was  a  stream, 
which  she  had  to  go  near,  and  which  at  this  period 
was  high.  With  a  view  of  showing  her  courage  to  a 
young  person  whom  she  had  taken  with  her  as  a  com- 
panion, she  went  into  the  stream  with  her  horse,  and 
in  a  very  little  time  was  thrown  into  the  water, — had 
already  sunk  once  or  twice  to  the  bottom,  and  felt 

that  she  was  within  a  few  moments  of  an  eternal 
9 


258  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

world,  without  being  prepared  for  so  great  a  change. 

It  so  happened,  that  a  young  man  in  a  neighboring 
town  had  felt  a  powerful  impression  on  his  mind  that 
morning,  that  he.  should  visit  the  same  place.  He 
had  no  business  to  transact ;  but,  being  forcibly  im- 
pressed with  the  importance  of  going  thither,  he 
invited  a  young  man  to  accompany  him.  Arriving 
at  the  side  of  the  stream  just  as  the  young  ladies 
were  about  to  cross  it,  they  saw  it  was  improbable 
that  they  could  ford  it ;  yet,  as  the  ladies  went,  they 
determined  to  follow. 

By  the  time  the  young  lady  was  thrown  from  her 
horse,  the  others  had  nearly  reached  the  opposite 
shore ;  but,  perceiving  her  danger,  one  of  them  im- 
mediately followed  her  on  his  horse,  and  in  the  last 
moment  of  life,  as  it  then  appeared,  she  caught  hold 
of  the  horse's  leg  ;  he  thus  secured  her,  and  catching 
hold  of  the  other  drowning  young  lady,  she  was 
saved  also.  After  the  use  of  proper  remedies,  they 
recovered;  and  the  young  gentlemen,  believing  that 
the  design  of  their  coming  from  home  was  now 
answered,  returned  back. 

The  impressions  made  on  the  mind  of  this  young 
lady  were  permanent,  and  she  was  led  to  reflect  on 
the  sin  she  had  committed  against  God,  to  pray  for 
the  pardon  of  her  guilt,  and  to  devote  herself  to  the 
Divine  service.  She  embraced  the  mercy  of  the 
Lord,  believing  in  the  Redeemer,  who  alone  saves 
from  the  wrath  to  come. 

In  the  same  town  with  herself  lived  a  young  gen- 
tleman who  had  often  spent  his  hours  in  vain 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  259 

conversation  with  her.  On  her  return  home,  he  went 
to  congratulate  her  on  her  escape,  and,  to  his  surprise, 
found  she  attributed  her  deliverance  to  the  power  of 
God,  and  urged  him  to  seek  that  grace  which  they 
had  both  neglected.  Her  serious  conversation  was 
blessed  to  his  co version,  and  he  became  a  faithful 
minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  thus  two  persons  were 
saved  from  drowning,  and  two  sinners  redeemed  from 
death,  by  God's  good  providence  and  grace. 

THE  EXPLOSION. 

"  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  ...  he  leadeth  me," 
said  the  Psalmist.  And  especially  is  this  leading  of 
the  Lord  disclosed  in  the  premonitions  of  danger 
which  he  often  bestows  upon  men,  thus  delivering 
them  from  unexpected  and  imminent  perils  by  means 
incomprehensible  to  those  around  them.  "He  will 
keep  the  feet  of  his  saints,"  said  the  praying  Hannah  ; 
and  thousands  can  testify  that  he  has  watched  them 
with  an  unslumbering  eye,  and  guided  them  with  his 
unerring  counsel,  and  rescued  them  with  an  Almighty 
hand. 

And  whenever  we  have  found  ourselves  in  dark 
and  devious  and  perilous  paths,  we  have  but  to  look 
back  and  blame  ourselves  that  our  eyes  were  dim, 
our  ears  heavy,  our  wills  stubborn,  and  our  hearts 
hard  ;  and  that  in  our  blindness  and  stiff-neckedness 
we  rejected  the  counsel  of  God  to  our  own  disadvan- 
tage. 

A  few  days  since  a  brother  limped  into  our  office, 


260  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

and  when  inquired  of  as  to  the  cause  of  his  lameness, 
he  stated  that  a  little  while  before,  when  visiting  a 
vessel  in  the  harbor,  as  he  was  passing  along  in  the 
obscurity  of  one,  of  the  decks,  he  fell  through  a 
scuttle,  down  into  the  hold  of  the  ship,  and  his  foot 
came  against  a  timber  with  such  force  as  to  fracture 
a  bone,  and  hence  he  had  become  disabled. 

"  Do  you  think,"  said  the  writer,  "  that  you  were 
in  the  place  that  the  Lord  wanted  you  to  be  in,  when 
you  fell  through  that  scuttle  ?  " 

"No,"  said  he,  "I  do  not.  I  felt  badly  about 
going,  and  only  yielded  to  the  desires  of  my  brother 
who  was  visiting  here,  and  who  wanted  me  to  go. 
But  it  went  hard,  and  I  felt  badly  about  it  all  the 
time." 

"I  thought  so,"  was  the  reply.  "  I  remember 
going  once  where  I  felt  I  ought  not  to,  some  ten 
years  ago,  and  I  have  not  got  over  the  effects  of  it 
yet,  and  do  not  know  as  I  ever  shall  in  this  world." 
I  had  been  preaching  the  gospel  at  various  times, 
in  the  streets  and  about  the  public  places  in  one  of 
our  large  cities,  with  some  appearances  of  good 
resulting  therefrom ;  and  on  one  occasion  I  resolved 
to  announce  in  the  public  prints  that  I  would  conduct 
a  service  at  the  usual  place  the  next  Sunday  after- 
noon. I  did  so,  though  I  felt  a  strange  misgiving 
and  a  reluctance  or  a  restraint  about  making  the 
announcement.  The  season  was  far  advanced,  the 
weather  was  cool,  and  my  health  was  frail ;  but  I  was 
"  like  the  horse  or  the  mule,  whose  mouth  must  be 
held  in  with  a  bit  or  bridle,"  and  I  flattered  myself 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  261 

that  I  could  endure  it ;  or,  if  the  weather  was  unfavor- 
able, I  could,  as  before,  enter  the  open  area  of  a 
public  building,  and  thus  avoid  exposure,  and  so  I 
disregarded  the  impression  of  duty. 

The  meeting  was  accordingly  held.  The  weather 
was  chilly,  the  wind  cold  and  raw,  and  blowing  in 
my  face,  and  the  door  which  I  had  before  found  open, 
was  by  some  means  locked  that  day.  I  therefore 
stood  outside  and  spoke  from  the  steps,  contracted  a 
cough,  which  Avas  followed  by  a  lung  fever  and 
chronic  weakness  and  congestion  of  the  lungs,  which 
is  a  source  of  trouble  and  disability  to  me  to  this 
day;  but  which  admonishes  me  from  time  to  time, 
that  when  a  man  neglects  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  he  does  so  at  his  peril,  and  to  his  sorrow. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  upon  which  the  lame 

brother  called,  another  Christian  friend,  Mr.  W , 

an  active  business  man,  and  an  earnest  disciple  of 
the  Lord,  entered  my  office,  and  spent  an  hour 
relating  some  of  the  instances  in  his  own  experience, 
where  he  had  noticed  special  indications  of  the 
presence  of  God's  guiding  hand.  One  of  these  inci- 
dents we  desire  to  place  on  record,  and  we  give  the 
account  substantially  iiji  his  own  words  : 

"  In  the  summer  of  1854,  I  was  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  Stockton,  California.  One  day  I  had  come 
down  from  Stockton  to  San  Francisco,  on  the  steam- 
boat Kate  Kearney,  and  had  brought  some  cases  of 
shoes ,  which  were  unloaded  upon  the  wharf  that  they 
might  be  shipped  to  Oregon  for  sale. 

"At  the   same  wharf  where  we   lay,  there  was 


262  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

another  steamer,  the  Helen  Hensley,  a  new  boat, 
which  lay  bow  to  bow  with  the  Kate  Kearney,  the 
vessels  almost  touching  each  other.  The  Helen 
Hensley  was  just  getting  up  steam  for  a  trial  trip  to 
Sacramento,  and  when  my  goods  were  unloaded  I 
went  on  board  of  her  to  see  how  the  new  steamboat 
looked.  Having  passed  over  the  boat,  I  came  down 
from  the  upper  deck  to  the  bow  deck,  descending  by 
a  staircase  which  was  located  just  in  front  of  the 
steam  boiler.  While  passing  leisurely  down  these 
stairs,  an  earnest  voice  seemed  to  say  to  me,  «  Be 
quick! '  I  pulled  out  my  watch,  looked  at  it,  thought 
of  my  business  which  I  had  to  do,  and  said  to  myself, 
*  Yes,  I  must  be  quick; '  and,  as  if  urged  by  some 
strange  impulse,  I  hurried  down  the  stairs,  hastened 
across  the  wharf,  and  rushed  into  the  clerk's  office  on 
board  the  Kate  Kearney,  to  settle  my  freight  bill. 

"  I  had  but  just  entered  the  office,  when  there  was 
an  explosion,  a  crash  which  shattered  the  window- 
glass  of  the  office  to  fragments  around  us,  and  a  roar 
of  escaping  steam  which  warned  myself  and  the  clerk 
to  fall  prostrate  upon  the  floor,  to  avoid  the  danger 
of  inhaling  the  scalding  vapor. 

* « In  a  moment  the  peril  was  past,  and  we  had 
time  to  survey  the  ruin.  The  boiler  of  the  Helen 
Hensley  had  exploded,  the  wood-work  of  the  vessel 
was  rent  and  shattered,  the  stairs  which  I  had  de- 
scended were  blown  to  fragments,  and  portions  of 
the  banisters  had  been  thrown  across  the  wharf  with 
such  tremendous  force  that  they  had  been  driven 
through  the  boards  of  the  cases  containing  the  shoes , 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  263 

and  there  remained  as  tokens  of  the  power  which  had 
hurled  them  from  their  place." 

Such  was  the  story  of  Mr.   W ,  and  though 

skeptics,  denying  the  providence  of  God,  might  sneer 
at  such  a  record,  yet  he  who  has  been  delivered 
"  from  so  great  a  death,"  will  give  adoring  thanks  to 
the  God  of  his  life,  for  the  unseen  guidance  which 
was  his  safety  in  that  hour  of  peril  and  desolation. 

Many,  very  many,  are  the  facts  which  illustrate 
the  necessity  of  instant  obedience  to  the  call  of  God. 
A  moment's  delay  here,  and  destruction  would  have 
been  inevitable.  And  often  upon  the  turning  of  a 
corner,  the  delay  or  the  haste  of  a  moment,  hangs 
the  whole  question  of  life  or  death,  of  ruin  or  de- 
struction. 

A  man  saw  with  ill-concealed  regret  the  steamer  on 
which  he  was  to  take  passage,  start  from  the  wharf 
before  he  could  reach  it ;  but  when  there  came  back 
the  bitter  tidings  of  a  burning  vessel  and  a  drowning 
crew,  he  blessed  the  hand  that  had  held  him  back 
from  destruction,  even  against  his  own  desire. 

A  gentleman,  passing  over  the  New  York  and  New 
Haven  railroad,  courteojusly  arose  and  gave  his  seat 
to  an  older  man  who  was  standing  near  him.  The 
train  whirled  along  its  iron  path  with  tremendous 
speed,  it  reached  Norwalk,  the  draw-bridge  was  open, 
— one  awful  plunge,  the  shrieks  of  the  wounded  and 
the  groans  of  the  dying  mingled  in  dreadful  discord, 
— the  gentleman  escaped  unhurt,  but  the  occupant  of 
his  seat  was  dead. 

We  cannot  penetrate  the  mysteries  of  Omniscience, 


264  THE  GUIDING  HAND. 

but  he  who  spares  the  green  and  takes  the  ripe,  has 
his  reasons  for  all  the  events  of  his  providence.  Be 
it  ours,  then,  in  lowliness  and  humility  to  follow  the 
guidings  of  his  counsel,  and  thus  escape  a  thousand 
perils  that  surround  us,  fulfill  our  mission  in  this 
world,  and  hear  at  last  his  gracious  words  of  welcome 
to  that  world  where  obscurity  and  doubt  shall  give 
place  to  perfect  knowledge,  and  where  the  clouds 
and  shadows  of  the  misty  present  shall  vanish  in  the 
sunshine  of  the  great  beyond. 


THE  AWAKENED  STUDENT. 

The  following  incident,  related  by  a  person  con- 
cerned in  it,  illustrates  the  watchfulness  of  our  heav- 
enly Father  in  preserving  us  in  our  defenseless  hours. 
The  narrator  says  : — 

"In  1845-46,  while  attending  Jefferson  College,  in 
Pennsylvania,  I  was  boarding  in  one  of  the  houses 
kept  for  the  accommodation  of  students,  and  room- 
ing alone,  in  the  second  story,  other  students  occupy- 
ing five  or  six  rooms  on  the  same  floor.  The  stove 
used  to  heat  my  room  was  placed  in  a  corner  not  far 
from  the  door,  my  bed  being  opposite,  and  about 
twelve  feet  distant. 

"Just  before  retiring,  one  evening,  as  my  custom 
was,  I  covered  up  the  coal  fire  with  the  ashes,  and 
immediately  laid  down  to  sleep.  Sometime  during 
the  night, — the  hour  I  know  not,  but  quite  late,  as 
all  the  students  had  retired,  as  well  as  the  family 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  265 

occupying  the  first  floor  and  the  basement, — I  was 
aroused,  got  up,  unlocked  my  door,  walked  three  or 
four  paces,  and  opened  the  door  to  the  garret  above, 
when  I  found  the  stairway,  and  the  studding  and 
lath  near  it,  in  flames  ! 

"Without  making  any  alarm  I  quickly  returned  to 
my  room,  and  taking  the  water  provided  for  my 
morning  ablutions  I  put  out  the  flames  as  well  as  I 
could,  and  went  down  stairs  for  more.  Before  sleep- 
ing again  I  satisfied  myself  that  the  fire  had  been 
extinguished,  but  did  not  speak  of  the  matter  until 
at  breakfast,  when  I  related  the  whole  affair  to  the 
students  and  others  present  at  the  table.  They  were 
of  course  much  startled  at  their  escape  from  such 
imminent  peril.  And  they  had  good  reason  to  be 
seriously  impressed  with  the  particular  care  God 
exercised  over  that  house  and  the  lives  therein  dur- 
ing that  night. 

"It  may  be  that  some  will  say  that  there  is  nothing 
strange  in  this ,  and  that  it  is  no  evidence  of  a  special 
providence.  I  never  can  persuade  myself  so  to  be- 
lieve. Why  I  awoke  just  at  that  moment,  being  in 
good  health,  with  everything  quiet  about  the  house, 
and  opened  the  doors  and  looked  as  I  did,  and  thus 
became  in  God's  hands  the  means  of  saving  property 
and  lives  from  destruction,  is  only  known  to  Him 
who  rules  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  sees  when  a 
sparrow  falls  to  the  ground.  It  could  not  have  been 
long — judging  from  the  appearances  when  I  opened 
the  garret  door — before  the  flames  would  have  com- 
municated with  the  floor  and  roof  above,  and  the 


266  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

consequences  that  might  have  followed  are  known 
only  to  Him  who  caused  me  to  act  as  I  did,  and  thus 
saved  our  souls  alive.  *  Oh  that  men  would  praise 
the  Lord  for  his  goodness,  and  for  his  wonderful 
works  to  the  children  of  men  ! ' " 


GUIDANCE  IN  GIVING. 

"It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive, "and 
one  of  the  greatest  blessings  to  the  trustful  child  of 
God,  is  to  be  used  of  the  Lord  for  the  comfort  and 
benefit  of  others.  But  in  a  world  of  beggary  and 
craft  and  imposition,  it  requires  not  only  human 
circumspection,  but  divine  guidance  to  enable  us  to 
"  do  good  and  to  communicate  "  at  such  times  and  in 
such  directions  as  shall  meet  the  approval  of  the 
heavenly  Master,  and  really  benefit  those  with  whom 
we  have  to  do. 

And,  that  this  needful  direction  will  not  be  with- 
held, is  evident  from  the  numerous  promises  of 
divine  instruction  and  direction  contained  in  the 
Book  of  God,  and  from  abundant  instances  where 
living  witnesses  can  attest  the  gracious  power  and 
presence  of  the  Guiding  Hand. 

The  morning  prayer-meeting  in  the  chapel  of  the 
Old  South  church,  in  Boston,  which  was  continued 
daily  for  so  many  years,  was  not  only  fraught  with 
many  fragrant  memories  of  spiritual  blessing,  and 
tokens  of  good  from  the  hand  of  God,  but  it  also 
proved,  in  one  instance  at  least,  a  place  of  temporal 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  267 

as  well  as  spiritual  mercies  to  the  children  of  the  Lord 
who  follow  the  divine  counsel  with  obedient  hearts. 

One  winter  morning,  a  few  years  ago,  a  Mr.  Wood- 
man, a  man  "not  slothful  in  business,  fervent  in 
spirit,  serving  the  Lord,"  left  his  counting-room,  a 
short  distance  away,  and  repaired  to  this  place, 
"  where  prayer  was  wont  to  be  made,"  to  spend  the 
appointed  hour,  from  eight  to  nine  o'clock,  among 
the  humble  worshippers. 

While  there,  he  listened  with  much  interest  to  the 
remarks  of  a  middle-aged  gentleman  who  took  part 
in  the  exercises  of  the  hour,  and  with  whom  he  was 
entirely  unacquainted ;  and  when  he  had  concluded 
his  remarks,  Mr.  W.  felt  strongly  inclined  to  go  to 
him  and  give  him  some  money.  He  wondered  at 
the  strangeness  of  the  impression ; — the  man  was 
better  dressed  than  he  was  himself;  there  were  no 
evidences  of  want  or  poverty  about  him ;  the  gift 
might  be  uncalled  for,  abrupt,  and  unwelcome ; — 
and  the  query  arose,  whether,  after  all,  it  was  not  a 
temptation  of  Satan,  rather  than  an  admonition  from 
the  Lord.  The  conviction,  however,  deepened,  and 
the  command,  "  Give  Mm  five  dollars"  was  repeated 
and  impressed  with  such  urgency  upon  his  mind  that 
he  could  not  resist  the  inward  call. 

Accordingly  he  leaned  his  head  forward  on  the 
seat,  that  he  might  not  be  observed  by  any  one,  took 
out  a  five-dollar  note,  folded  it  up,  and  when  the 
meeting  was  over,  glided  up  the  aisle,  placed  the  five 
dollars  in  the  hand  of  the  stranger,  to  be  used  as  he 
saw  fit,  and  hastened  away,  not  waiting  for  thanks, 


268  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

but  feeling  the  inward  approval  known  only  to  those 
who  have  "  the  witness"  in  themselves. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  W.  was  again  at  the  prayer- 
meeting,  and  the  same  stranger  arose  and  spoke 
substantially  as  follows  : — 

"In  days  past  I  have  possessed  means,  and  in 
those  days  I  delighted  to  do  good.  Many  is  the  five- 
dollar  bill  that  I  have  given  to  the  poor  and  the 
distressed.  But  reverses  have  overtaken  me,  and 
though  I  am  provided  with  food  and  raiment,  yet  it 
is  a  great  grief  to  me  that  I  am  unable  to  do  for  the 
poor  and  needy  as  I  formerly  could. 

"Yesterday  morning,  on  my  way  to  this  meeting, 
I  saw  a  Christian  sister  in  a  neighboring  town.  She 
was  sick  and  poor  and  friendless,  and  had  neither 
food  nor  fire  in  this  cold  weather ;  and  I  felt  in  my 
heart,  'Oh,  if  I  only  had  five  dollars  to  give  her, 
how  glad  I  should  be  !'  but  I  did  not  have  it.  But 
I  came  here  yesterday  morning,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  meeting  a  brother  came  and  put  five  dollars  into 
my  hand,  to  use  as  I  saw  fit,  and  went  away.  I 
went  from  this  meeting  to  that  poor  woman's  house, 
gave  her  the  money  and  told  her  the  Lord  sent  it  to 
her,  and  she  believed  he  did  send  it.  And  if  that 
brother  is  here  to-day,  I  should  like  to  see  him  and 
speak  with  him." 

Mr.  W.  made  himself  known  as  he  was  desired  to 
do  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  and  they  both  rejoiced 
in  the  gracious  care  of  God  who  had  made  them 
instruments  of  blessing  to  one  of  his  little  ones  in  a 
time  of  sore  distress. 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  269 

Another  instance  may  be  mentioned  which  is,  per- 
haps, equally  remarkable  as  an  illustration  of  divine 
direction.  There  was  a  widow  lady  in  Boston  whom 
Mr.  W.  had  known  for  years,  and  to  whose  necessi- 
ties he  had  sometimes  been  enabled  to  minister  in 
times  of  sickness  and  distress.  He  had,  however,  lost 
trace  of  her  for  some  time,  till  one  day  he  met  her  in 
the  street  carrying  a  fine  basket  of  provisions,  and 
said :  "Well,  I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  have  some- 
thing good  to  eat." 

"I  only  wish  it  was  mine,"  she  replied  with  a  sigh, 
which  convinced  him  that  she  must  be  carrying  the . 
basket  for  some  one  else,  and  that  it  was  an  evidence 
of  her  extreme  necessity  rather  than  of  abundance ; 
and  hastily  placing  five  dollars  in  her  hand,  he  said, 
"There,  I  don't  see  why  you  cannot  have  something 
good  to  eat,  as  well  as  other  folks,"  and  passed  along, 
and  saw  nor  heard  no  more  from  her  for  months. 

In  January,  1867,  he  visited  the  state  of  Maine  on 
business,  and  a  tremendous  storm  coming  on,  he  was 
blockaded  by  snow-drifts,  which  made  roads  and 
railways  impassable  for  some  time,  and  was  thus 
absent  from  his  business  for  sixteen  days.  On  his 
return,  in  the  midst  of  the  cares  which  had  accumu- 
lated during  his  protracted  absence,  almost  the  first 
thing  in  the  morning  he  felt,  "I  ought  to  go  and  see 
that  poor  woman."  But  business  was  pressing,  and 
the  matter  passed  from  his  mind.  Again  in  the 
course  of  the  day  the  impression  came  upon  him,  "I 
must  go  and  see  that  woman  ;"  and  he  ascertained  her 
residence,  but  found  no  time  to  visit  her. 


270  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

At  night  he  started  for  home,  and  while  passing 
up  Pearl  street  to  see  a  friend,  a  reproving  voice 
within  seemed  to  say,  "  There,  you  haven't  been  to 
see  that  woman.  You  must  go."  It  was  late,  and 
supper  was  waiting  at  home ;  but  the  sense  of  duty 
was  too  strong  to  be  resisted,  and  he  hastened  to  the 
widow's  lowly  tenement.  As  he  entered  her  poverty- 
stricken  abode,  she  arose  from  her  knees,  her  face 
covered  with  tears,  and  thanked  God  that  he  had 
sent  her  relief.  She  was  sick,  and  starving  for  food  ; 
a  salted  herring  was  about  the  only  thing  she  had  in 
the  house,  and  this  her  disease  would  not  permit  her 
to  eat.  She  had  been  praying  for  twenty-four  hours, 
that  the  Lord  would  send  some  one  there  to  relieve 
her  wants,  and  now  her  prayer  was  answered. 

Mr.  W.  hastened  away,  and  soon  returned  laden 
with  all  the  necessary  comforts  of  life  that  he  could 
conveniently  bring,  which  he  deposited  upon  her 
table ;  and  having  provided  for  her  wants,  he  went 
his  way  in  peace.  It  was  the  last  of  her  troubles 
and  privations,  for  the  kind  hand  of  God  provided  an 
abundant  supply  for  all  her  needs,  and  she  yet  lives 
to  rejoice  in  the  mercy  of  God,  who  is  a  father  of 
the  fatherless  and  a  judge  of  widows  in  his  holy 
habitation,  and  to  minister  to  the  needs  of  others  in 
distress,  and  comfort  those  who  are  in  any  trouble 
by  the  comfort  wherewith  she  herself  has  been  so 
graciously  comforted  of  God. 

These  authentic  facts,  communicated  to  us  by  a 
person  of  veracity,  we  place  on  record  for  the  con- 
firmation of  the  faith  of  "  the  poor,  and  them  that 


THE  GUIDING    HAND.  271 

have  no  helper,"  that  they  may  still  confide  in  that 
God  who  will  have  respect  unto  his  covenant,  and 
who  * l  will  not  forget  the  congregation  of  his  poor 
forever  ;  "  and  for  the  quickening  of  those  whom  the 
Lord  has  made  stewards  of  his  temporal  bounties, 
that  they  may  listen  carefully  to  the  voice  behind 
them  which  says,  "  This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it," 
lest  they  miss  the  blessing  of  doing  good  while  here, 
grow  cold  and  dark  and  covetous  amid  increasing 
possessions  and  advancing  years,  and  hear  at  last 
from  the  lips  of  their  Judge  the  awful  words,  "  Inas- 
much as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  did  it  not  to  me." 


A  POOE  COTTAGEK. 

A  lady  who  had  just  sat  down  to  breakfast,  had  a 
strong  impression  on  her  mind  that  she  must  instantly 
carry  a  loaf  of  bread  to  a  poor  man  who  lived  about 
half  a  mile  from  her  house,  by  the  side  of  a  common. 
Her  husband  wished  her  either  to  postpone  taking  it 
till  after  breakfast,  or  send  it  by  a  servant ;  but  she 
chose  to  take  it  immediately  herself.  As  she  ap- 
proached the  hut  she  heard  the  sound  of  a  human 
voice,  and  wishing  to  discover  what  was  said,  she 
stepped  unperceived  to  the  door.  She  heard  the  poor 
man  praying,  and  among  other  things  he  said,  "  O 
Lord,  help  me  :  Lord,  thou  wilt  help  me  ;  thy  promise 
cannot  fail.  Although  we  have  no  bread  to  eat,  I 
know  thou  wilt  supply  me,  though  thou  shouldst  again 


272  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

rain  down  manna  from  heaven."  The  lady  could  wait 
no  longer,  but  opened  the  door.  "Yes,"  she  replied, 
"God  has  sent  you  relief.  Take  this  loaf,  and  be 
encouraged  to  cast  your  care  upon  Him  who  careth 
for  you ;  and  whenever  you  want  bread  come  to  my 
house." 


THE  FLYING  ENGINE. 

Within  a  few  rods  of  the  bank  of  the  Delaware 
river,  opposite  the  city  of  Trenton,  and  in  the  town 
of  Morris ville,  Pa.,  there  stood,  about  the  middle  of 
the  present  century,  a  long,  two-story  wooden  block, 
containing  four  tenements,  which  were  occupied  by 
different  families.  The  block  of  buildings  was  sit- 
uated some  twenty  feet  northwesterly  of  the  line  of 
the  great  railroad  connecting  New  York  with  Phila- 
delphia and  Washington,  and  stood  at  the  point 
where  the  railroad  track,  curving  sharply  to  the 
eastward,  crosses  the  Delaware  to  Trenton,  on  the 
New  Jersey  shore. 

In  one  of  these  tenements,  that  was  nearest  to  the 
river,  resided  at  this  time  William  Kitson,  a  humble, 
Christian  man,  who,  with  his  wife  and  four  children, 
trusted  in  God  and  waited  for  his  Son  from  heaven, 
and  shared  in  the  protection  of  those  angels  who 
encamp  round  about  the  people  of  God,  and  deliver 
them  in  hours  of  danger  and  distress. 

On  the  fifth  day  of  March,  1849,  notice  was  sent 
along  the  line  to  clear  the  track  for  the  passage  of  a 
train  consisting  of  an  engine  and  its  tender,  with 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  273 

only  three  men  on  board, — the  engineer,  fireman,  and 
brakeman, — who  ran  as  a  government  express,  to 
bear  the  inaugural  address  or  message  of  President 
Zachary  Taylor,  who  had  been  inducted  into  office  as 
chief  magistrate  of  the  United  States  the  preceding 
day.  The  train  was  to  run  very  swiftly,  and  make 
no  stops,  and  all  persons  were  warned  to  keep  out  of 
its  way. 

The  afternoon  wore  away,  and  Mr.  Kitson  and  his 
family  had  just  finished  their  supper  and  drawn  back 
from  the  table,  when  a  cry  was  heard,  "The  express 
is  coming!"  and  they  hurried  out  to  see  it  pass. 
Mrs.  Kitson  with  her  little  girl,  went  out  and  stood 
on  the  steps  in  front  of  the  house  ;  her  husband  stood 
in  the  doorway  with  one  child  in  his  arms,  and 
another  standing  by  his  side ,  while  the  other  boy  ran 
to  the  next  door  to  notify  the  neighbors  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  train. 

On  came  the  fiery,  flying  chariot,  thundering  down 
the  track,  until,  as  it  sped  furiously  along,  and  came 
still  nearer,  suddenly,  and  when  no  sign  of  danger 
appeared,  a  voice  rung  through  the  soul  of  Mr. 
Kitson,  and  the  single  warning  word  it  uttered  was, 
"Run!"  Startled  by  it,  he  began  to  re-assure  him- 
self, saying  mentally,  " Surely  there  is  no  need  to 
run,"  and  he  stood  still  and  watched  the  rushing 
engine  for  a  few  seconds,  when  the  same  warning 
came  again,  only  this  time  it  was  louder  and  more 
thrilling  than  at  first.  He  was  aroused,  and  a  strange 
feeling  of  fear  came  over  him,  but  still  supposing 
himself  and  family  entirely  out  of  all  danger  he 


274  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

remained  transfixed  to  the  spot,  impelled,  yet  not 
persuaded  to  go.  Looking  at  the  living  iron,  flying 
headlong  on  its  track,  and  goaded  to  its  utmost  speed, 
he  now  perceived  that  it  had  already  entered  on  the 
curve,  and  so  terrible  was  the  strain  that  a  stream  of 
fire  was  flying  from  its  wheels.  The  machine  was 
now  but  a  few  rods  from  the  dwelling,  almost  headed 
toward  the  gate,  but  clinging  to  the  curving  track. 
Then  a  third  time,  as  if  sounded  in  the  air  close  to 
his  ear,  came  the  mysterious  warning,  "RuN  !  "  It 
seemed  like  an  audible  voice.  To  longer  resist  its 
command  was  madness,  and  he  stepped  backward 
into  the  house,  with  his  little  boy  in  his  arms.  He 
had  not  gone  the  width  of  the  room,  when  the  poiir 
derous  engine,  leaping  from  the  track,  struck  the 
steps  where  he  had  stood,  crashed  through  the  door-, 
way  and  the  side  of  the  house,  tearing  the  door  frorq 
its  hinges,  and  hurling  it  behind  him  close  to  his 
heels.  One  leap  cleared  him  from  the  pursuing 
monster,  which,  with  an  awful,  hissing  roar,  plunged 
through  the  floor  and  landed  on  the  bottom  of  the 
cellar. 

The  danger  was  past,  and  Mr.  Kitson  was  safe, 
but  where  were  his  family  and  loved  ones  ?  All  had 
been  imperiled,  and  yet  all  were  saved.  Said  Mrs. 
Kitson  to  a  ministering  brother,  a  few  days  after  : 

"When.  I  saw  the  engine  coming,  something  said 
to  me,  <Kun!'  I  said,  'No,  I  will  not  run,  I  will 
stand  here  and  see  it  pass.'  Again  something  said, 
'Run I'  I  said,  'I  won't  run.'  Once  more  it  sounded 
in  my  ears  with  such  power  that  I  could  not  resist  it, 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  275 

'RuN  ! '  I  then  jumped  from  the  steps,  threw  open 
the  gate  at  the  corner  of  the  house  leading  into  the 
yard,  and  passed  through,  saying  at  the  same  instant 
to  the  girl,  'Run! ' 

4 'As  soon  as  I  had  entered  the  gate,  I  turned, 
expecting  to  see  the  engine  pass  upon  the  track,  and 
saw  it  just  behind  me,  coming  towards  the  gate.  It 
came  about  two  thirds  the  distance  from  the  road  to 
the  gate,  and  then  made  a  sudden  turn  to  the  left, 
and  entered  the  house." 

The  little  girl  had  heeded  her  mother's  cry,  and 
had  fled  and  escaped  the  danger,  and  Charlie,  the 
boy  who  stood  by  his  father's  side  in  the  door,  was 
found  crowded  into  a  narrow  space  of  about  eighteen 
inches  wide,  between  the  diagonal  path  of  the  engine 
and  the  front  wall  of  the  house,  covered  with  the 
debris  of  the  ruined  building,  but  safe  and  sound. 

The  brakeman  of  the  train  was  thrown  from  his 
elevated  seat  on  to  a  pile  of  boards,  and  was  severely 
injured  ;  the  engineer  leaped  from  the  flying  engine, 
as  it  entered  the  house,  and  landed  unhurt  on  the 
steps  of  the  next  tenement ;  while  the  fireman,  stick- 
ing by  the  engine,  was  carried  into  the  house  amid 
the  crash  and  ruin,  but  escaped  alive  with  slight 
injuries  and  scalds. 

Mr.  Kitson  and  family  were  all  safe.  But  had 
they  remained  where  they  stood  another  instant,  all 
would  have  perished,  as  the  engine  struck  the  house 
in  its  center,  just  where  they  had  gathered  in  fancied 
security  to  watch  its  passing. 

The  engine  was  still  on  the  track  when  Mr.  Kitson 


276  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

and  his  wife,  moved  by  a  simultaneous  impulse,  each 
being  ignorant  of  the  other's  feelings,  started  to  run 
as  for  their  lives,  to  escape  a  danger  which,  though 
imminent,  was  unseen,  and  would  have  been  un- 
known had  not  that  mysterious  Voice  rung  its  awful 
and  imperative  warning  in  their  ears  to  save  them 
from  the  jaws  of  destruction.  The  warning  was 
timely,  and  so  evidently  unearthly  as  to  create  a 
life-long  impression.  There  was  thanksgiving  and 
praise  in  two  souls  that  night. 

Such  were  the  circumstances  attending  this  terrible 
danger  and  this  wonderful  escape,  as  related  in  sub- 
stance by  Edwin  Burnham,  the  evangelist,  in  the 
hearing  of  the  writer  several  years  ago,  and  confirmed 
by  Dr.  Josiah  Litch,  who  received  the  story  tit  the 
time  from  the  lips  of  those  who  had  thus  been  de- 
livered from  death,  and  immediately  published  it 
over  his  signature  in  the  Advent  Herald  for  April 
21,  1849.  More  recent  inquiries  confirm  the  truth 
of  the  recital,  and  the  persons  concerned  are,  some 
or  all  of  them,  still  living  to  bear  witness  to  its  truth. 

This  divine  deliverance  rebukes  that  scientific  in- 
fidelity which  leaves  destiny  to  inexorable  law,  and 
ignores  all  special  interference  of  God  in  the  affairs 
of  men.  Why  all  persons  in  jeopardy  are  not  simi- 
larly warned,  and  so  permitted  to  escape,  we  do  not 
know,  nor  are  we  required  to  know  to  enable  us  to 
see  our  way  to  faith  in  a  higher,  redeeming  Power. 

One  thing  we  do  know,  namely,  that  many  persons 
who  have  disregarded  such  warnings  have  done  it  to 
their  sorrow,  while  those  who  have  heeded  them  have 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  277 

been  saved  from  many  ills.  It  is  enough  for  us  to 
know  that,  many  and  mighty  as  are  the  angels  of  the 
Most  High,  they  are  "all  ministering  spirits,  sent 
forth,"  not  like  the  messengers  of  Satan  to  tip  tables 
and  talk  nonsense  under  the  guise  of  ghosts,  at  the 
call,  and  for  the  delusion  of  skeptics  and  infidels,  but 
rather  "to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of 
salvation,"  over  whom  God  has  given  them  charge 
to  keep  them  in  all  their  ways  ;  and  that  in  just  such, 
ways  and  at  such  times  as  pleases  God,  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  who  encampeth  round  about  them  that  fear 
him,  "delivereth  them." 


HELP  IN  DISTEESS. 

The  following  fact  is  related  by  a  minister  in  Mary- 
land, who  had  it  from  the  person  concerned  : 

"A  man  in  the  western  part  of  Maryland  was  trav- 
eling at  night,  riding  a  horse  quite  wild  and  unman- 
ageable, and  the  night  was  extremely  dark.  Passing 
through  a  narrow  lane,  where  a  cultivator  had  been 
left  near  the  fence,  the  horse  struck  the  handle  of  the 
cultivator  with  his  foot,  became  entangled  in  it,  threw 
the  rider,  and  immediately  rushed  forward,  with  full 
speed.  The  man,  thrown  to  the  ground,  was  com- 
pletely stunned  by  the  fall.  The  horse  ran  by  a 
neighboring  house,  where  the  man  of  the  house  was 
just  preparing  to  retire  to  bed.  An  impression 
came  on  his  mind  that  some  person  was  in  danger, 
and  he  told  his  wife  that  they  must  go  and  search  for 
the  sufferer.  He  remarked  that  he  could  not  possibly 


278  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

go  to  bed ;  that  some  one  was  in  danger.  Accom- 
panied by  his  wife  and  servant,  he  went  out  to  search, 
and  going  through  the  lane,  found  the  rider,  who  had 
been  thrown,  lying  senseless  upon  the  ground.  They 
raised  him  up  and  carried  him  to  the  house,  where  his 
returning  consciousness  revealed  to  him  that  he 
was  among  strangers,  who  were  taking  care  of  him. 
Ultimately  he  was  restored,  but  no  doubt  would  have 
perished,  had  not  the  man  living  there  been  led,  by  a 
providential  impulse,  to  go  out  and  seek  for  him. 
Does  not  an  instance  like  this  plainly  show  the  inter- 
posing hand  of  divine  Providence?" 


THE  PACKED  TKUM. 

In  these  days  of  the  poured-out  Spirit,  says  a 
writer  in  the  Home  Journal,  one  needs  to  speak  and 
write  cautiously  of  some  of  the  manifestations. 
Many  things  not  in  keeping  with  taste  and  reason 
are  clone  ;  but  may  not  these  very  things  be  in  con- 
formity with  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ? 

The  God-given  directions  of  old  were  not  always 
reasonable,  judged  from  a  human  stand-point.  No 
warrior  would  have  walked  around  Jericho  day  after 
day  with  the  expectation  of  thus  overcoming  a  foe  ; 
no  leper  would  have  believed  that  a  bath  in  Jordan 
would  heal  him  ;  no  blind  man  would  have  judged 
that  there  was  efficacy  in  clay-salve  to  open  eyes. 

These' very  things  were,  however,  of  divine  order- 
ing. If  God  could  command  thus  in  ages  past, 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  279 

may  he  not  do  the  same  now  ?  May  he  not  have  a 
David  to  dance,  a  Daniel  to  fall  powerless, a  Naaman 
to  wash  in  a  river,  a  Moses  or  a  Paul  to  lay  on  hands, 
an  Ananias  to  direct  to  some  street  called  Straight, 
or  otherwise  ?  And  if  God  leads  thus,  need  spiritual 
minds  be  disturbed  ?  If  they  cannot  see  the  where- 
fore, need  it  cause  a  quivering?  If  a  Joshua  must 
march  around  Jericho,  need  those  who  stay  at  home 
feel  disgust  ?  If  a  Paul  must  lay  his  hands  on  the 
head  of  some  disciple,  need  others  revolt?  If  the 
Spirit  tells  Ananias  to  go  to  Straight  street,  need  it 
be  called  a  new  inspiration  ?  And  if  a  Peter  prays 
on  the  house-top,  and  the  Spirit  tells  him  to  go  below 
stairs  to  see  strangers,  need  he  be  reckoned  an 
enthusiast  and  fanatic  ?  Can  a  reason  be  given  from 
the  Word  why  God  may  not  ask  these  things  of  his 
own  to-day  ? 

In  a  Boston  meeting,  a  lady  said  that  she  had  been 
ready  to  go  home  for  three  weeks.  Her  trunk  had 
been  packed  and  waiting ;  but  the  Spirit  detained 
her  in  the  city, — why,  she  did  not  know.  At  a  meet- 
ing a  week  later  in  the  same  place,  the  leader  said, 
"If  any  one  has  his  trunk  packed  ready  for  departure, 
let  him  go" — discarding  spiritual  direction  in  such 
matters.  Yet  patriarchs,  and  prophets,  and  apostles, 
and  disciples,  all  had  directions,  at  times,  about  going 
hither  and  thither.  This  lady  referred  to,  learned 
afterwards  that  her  home  was  closed  on  account  of  a 
contagious  disease,  and  had  she  left  when  she  first 
intended,  she  would  have  found  her  own  door  shut 
for  a  limited  season  against  her. 


280  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

CAPTAIN  FANNING'S  DELIVERANCE. 

The  following  providential  deliverance  from  immi- 
nent danger,  is  related  by  Captain  Fanning,  in  the 
volume  containing  his  "Voyages  round  the  World." 
The  incident  occurred  during  a  voyage  in  the  Pacific, 
after  seal-skin  fur.  Captain  Fanning  says  : — 

"At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  my  customary 
hour  for  retiring,  I  had,  as  usual,  repaired  to  my 
berth,  enjoying  perfectly  good  health;  but  between 
the  hours  of  nine  and  ten,  found  myself,  without 
being  sensible  of  any  movement  or  exertion  in  get- 
ting there,  on  the  upper  steps  of  the  companion-way. 
After  exchanging  a  few  words  with  the  commanding 
officer,  who  was  walking  the  deck,  I  returned  to  my 
berth,  thinking  how  strange  it  was,  for  I  never  before 
had  walked  in  my  sleep.  Again  I  was  occupying  the 
same  position,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  officer — 
not  more  so  than  to  myself —  after  having  slept  some 
twenty  minutes  or  the  like.  I  was  preparing  to 
return  to  the  cabin,  after  answering  in  the  affirmative 
his  inquiry,  whether  Captain  Fanning  was  well. 
Why  I  came,  or  what  had  thus  brought  me  twice  to 
the  companion-way,  I  was  quite  unable  to  tell ;  but 
lest  there  should  be  any  portion  of  vigilance  unob- 
served by  those  in  charge,  I  inquired  of  the  officer 
how  far  he  was  able  to  see  around  the  ship.  He  re- 
plied, that  although  a  little  hazy,  he  thought  he  could 
see  a  mile  or  two,  adding  that  the  lookout  was  regu- 
larly relieved  every  half  hour. 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  281 

"With  a  strange  sensation  upon  my  mind,  I  again 
returned  to  my  berth.  What  was  my  astonishment 
on  finding  myself  the  third  time  in  the  same  place, 
with  this  addition :  I  had  now,  without  being  aware 
of  it,  put  on  my  outer  garments  and  hat!  Then  I 
conceived  some  danger  was  nigh  at  hand,  and  deter- 
mined upon  laying  the  ship  to  for  the  night.  She 
was  then  under  full  sail,  going  at  the  rate  of  five  or 
six  miles  per  hour.  All  her  light  sails  were  accord- 
ingly taken  in,  the  top-sails  were  single-reefed,  and 
the  ship  brought  to,  forthwith,  on  the  wind.  I  gave 
directions  to  the  officer  to  tack  every  hour,  and  to  pass 
the  direction  to  the  officer  who  should  relieve  him, 
that  we  might  maintain  our  present  position  until 
morning  ;  adding  a  request  that  he  would  call  me  at 
daylight,  as  he  himself  would  then  be  again  on  watch. 
He  was  surprised  and  looked  at  me  with  astonishment, 
appearing  half  to  hesitate  to  obey,  supposing  me  to 
be  out  of  my  mind.  I  observed,  I  was  perfectly  well, 
but  that  something,  what  it  was  I  could  not  tell,  re- 
quired that  these  precautionary  measures  should  be 
taken.  A  few  minutes  before  eleven  I  again  re- 
tired and  remained  undisturbed,  enjoying  a  sound 
sleep  until  called  at  daylight  by  the  officer.  He 
reported  the  weather  to  be  much  the  same  as  the 
evening  previous,  with  a  fine  trade-wind  from  E.  N". 
E.  Giving  him  directions  to  make  all  sail,  after 
attending  to  some  little  duties,  I  followed  to  the  deck 
just  as  the  sun  came  above  the  clear  eastern  horizon. 

' 'The  officers  and  watch  were  busily  engaged.  All 
was  activity  and  bustle,  except  with  the  helmsman. 


282  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

Even  the  man  on  the  look-out  was  for  a  moment 
called  from  his  especial  charge,  and  was  engaged  in 
reefing  and  sending  down  on  deck  the  steering-sail 
halyards.  This  induced  me  to  walk  over  to  the  lee- 
quarter,  not  expecting,  however,  to  make  any  dis- 
covery. In  a  moment  the  whole  truth  flashed  before 
my  eyes,  as  I  caught  sight  of  breakers,  mast  high, 
directly  ahead,  and  towards  which  our  ship  was  fast 
sailing. 

"The  helm  was  puta-lee,  the  yards  all  braced  up, 
and  sails  trimmed  by  the  wind,  as  the  man  aloft,  in  a 
stentorian  voice  called  out,  *  Breakers !  breakers 
ahead  I*  This  was  a  sufficient  response  to  the  inquir- 
ing look  of  the  officer,  as  perceiving  the  maneuver 
without  being  aware  of  the  cause,  he  had  gazed  upon 
me  to  find  if  I  was  crazed.  Casting  a  look  upon  the 
foaming  breakers,  his  face,  from  a  flush  of  red,  had 
assumed  a  death-like  paleness.  No  man  spoke.  All 
was  silence,  except  the  needed  orders,  which  were 
promptly  executed  with  the  precision  that  necessarily 
attends  the  conduct  of  an  orderly  and  correct  crew  in 
a  critical  emergency. 

*  'The  ship  was  now  sailing  on  the  wind,  and  the  roar- 
ing of  the  breakers  under  her  lee,  a  mile's  short  dis- 
tance, was  distinctly  heard.  The  officer  to  whom  the 
events  of  the  night  were  familiar,  came  aft  to  me, 
and  with  the  voice  and  look  of  a  man  deeply  impressed 
with  solemn  convictions,  said,  'Surely,  sir,  Prov- 
idence has  a  care  over  us,  and  has  kindly  directed  us 
again  on  the  road  of  safety.  I  cannot  speak  my 
feelings,  for  it  seems  to  me,  after  what  has  passed 


THE  GTiTDrttG  HAND.  283 


during  the  night,  and  now  what  appears  before  my 
eyes,  as  if  I  had  just  awakened  in  another  world. 
Why  ,  sir,  half  an  hour's  further  run  from  where  we 
lay  by  in  the  night,  would  have  cast  us  on  that  fatal 
spot,  where  we  must  all  certainly  have  been  lost.' 

"All  hands,  by  this  time  made  acquainted  with  the 
discovery,  and  the  danger  they  had  so  narrowly 
escaped,  were  gathered  on  deck,  gazing  upon  the 
breakers  with  serious  and  thoughtful  countenances. 
We  were  enabled  to  weather  the  breakers  on  our 
stretch  to  the  north,  with  a  fair  view  of  them  from 
aloft.  We  did  not  discover  a  foot  of  ground,  rock 
or  sand,  above  water,  where  a  boat  might  have  been 
hauled  up  ;  of  course  had  our  ship  run  on  it  in  the 
night,  there  can  be  no  question  but  we  should  all 
have  perished." 

SONG  IN  THE  NIGHT. 

"If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us?"    Rom.  viii.  31. 
Is  God  for  me?     I  fear  not,  though  all  against  me  rise  ; 
When  I  call  on  Christ  my  Saviour,  the  host  of  evil  flies  ; 
My  Friend,  the  Lord  Almighty,  and  he  who  loves  me,  God, 
What  enemy  shall  harm  me,  though  coming  as  a  flood? 
I  know  it,  I  believe  it,  I  say  it  fearlessly, 
That  God,  the  highest,  mightiest,  forever  loveth  me. 
At  all  times,  in  all  places,  he  standeth  at  my  side  ; 
He  rules  the  battle's  fury,  the  tempest,  and  the  tide. 

A  Rock  that  stands  forever  is  Christ  my  righteousness, 

And  there  I  stand  forever  in  everlasting  bliss  ; 

No  earthly  thing  is  needful  to  this  my  life  from  heaven, 

And  naught  of  love  is  worthy,  save  that  which  God  has  given  ; 

Christ,  all  my  praise  and  glory,  my  light  most  sweet  and  fair, 

The  ship  wherein  he  saileth  is  scathless    everywhere. 

In  him  I  dare  be  joyful,  as  a  hero  in  the  war  ; 

The  judgment  of  the  sinner  affrighteth  me  no  more. 


284  THE  GUIDING  HAND. 

There  is  no  condemnation,  there  is  no  hell  for  me, 

The  torment  and  the  fire  my  eyes  shall  never  see ; 

For  me  there  is  no  sentence,  for  me  has  death  no  sting, 

Because  the  Lord,  who  loves  me,  shall  shield  me  with  his  wing. 

Above  my  soul's  dark  waters  his  Spirit  hovers  still, 

He  guards  me  from  all  sorrows,  from  terror  and  from  ill ; 

In  me  he  works,  and  blesses  the  life- seed  he  has  sown, 

From  him  I  learn  the  "  Abba,"  that  prayer  of  faith  alone. 

And  if  in  lonely  places,  a  fearful  child,  I  shrink, 

He  prays  the  prayers  within  me,  I  cannot  ask  or  think, — 

The  deep  unspoken  language,  known  only  to  that  love 

Which  fathoms  the  heart's  mystery  from  the  throne  of  light  above. 

His  Spirit  to  my  spirit  sweet  words  of  comfort  saith, 

How  God  the  weak  one  strengthens  who  leans  on  him  in  faith ; 

How  he  hath  built  a  city  of  love  and  light  and  song, 

Where  the  eye  at  last  beholdeth  what  the  heart  hath  loved  so  long. 

And  there  is  mine  inheritance,  my  kingly  palace  home ; 
The  leaf  may  fall  and  perish,  not  less  the  spring  will  come ; 
Like  wind  and  rain  of  winter,  are  our  earthly  sighs  and  tears, 
Till  the  golden  summer  dawneth  of  the  endless  year  of  years. 
The  world  may  pass  and  perish ;  thou,  God,  wilt  not  remove ; 
No  hatred  of  all  devils  can  part  me  from  thy  love ; 
No  hungering  or  thirsting,  no  poverty  nor  care, 
No  wrath  of  mighty  princes,  can  reach  my  shelter  there : 

No  angel  and  no  heaven,  no  throne  nor  power  nor  might, 
No  love,  no  tribulation,  no  danger,  fear,  nor  fight, 
No  height,  no  depth,  no  creature  that  has  been  or  can  be, 
Can  drive  me  from  thy  bosom,  can  sever  me  from  thee ; 
My  heart  in  joy  upleapeth,  grief  cannot  linger  there ; 
She  singeth  high  in  glory  amidst  the  sunshine  fair ; 
The  sun  that  shines  upon  me  is  Jesus  and  his  love ; 

The  fountain  of  my  singing  is  deep  in  heaven  above. 

Paul  Gerhardt,  1656. 


THE  GUIDING  HAND, 


CONVEBSIONS. 


"THE  DAYSPRING  FROM  ON  HIGH  HATH  VISITED  US,  TO  GIVE 
LIGHT  TO  THEM  THAT  SIT  IN  DARKNESS  AND  IN  THE  SHADOW 
OP  DEATH,  TO  GUIDE  OUR  FEET  INTO  THE  WAY  OF  PEACE." 

Luke  i.  78,  79. 

"THE  MEEK  WILL  HE  GUIDE  IN  JUDGMENT,  AND  THE  MEEK 
WILL  HE  TEACH  HIS  WAY."  Ps.  XXV.  9. 

"WHEN  HE,  THE  SPIRIT  OF  TRUTH,  is  COME,  HE  WILL  GUIDE 

YOU   INTO   ALL   TRUTH."      John  Xvi.  13. 


THE  GUIDING  HAND. 


CONVERSIONS. 


THE  CZAE  AND  THE  PSALM. 

When  Alexander  I.,  Emperor  of  Russia,  came  to 
the  throne,  few  Bibles  were  found  in  his  empire,  and 
great  carelessness  in  reference  to  religion  almost  uni- 
versally prevailed.  A  high  place  in  the  church  soon 
became  vacant,  and  the  emperor  appointed  his  fa- 
vorite prince,  Alexander  Galitzin,  to  fill  it.  He  at 
first  declined  the  appointment,  on  the  plea  of  his 
entire  ignorance  of  religion,  but  the  emperor  over- 
ruled the  objection  as  of  no  weight.  Constrained  to 
accept  the  position,  the  prince  on  his  first  interview 
with  the  venerable  archbishop  Platoff,  requested  him 
to  point  out  some  book  which  would  give  him  a  con- 
cise view  of  the  Christian  religion,  that  he  might  be 
better  qualified  for  his  official  duties.  The  archbishop, 
rather  surprised  at  the  prince's  professed  ignorance 
of  religion,  recommended  the  Bible.  The  prince 
said  he  could  not  think  of  reading  that  book.  i  'Well," 
replied  the  archbishop,  "that  is  the  only  book  there 
is,  or  ever  will  be,  that  can  give  you  a  correct  view 
of  the  Christian  religion." 


288  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

4 'Then  I  must  remain  ignorant  of  it ;  reading  the 
Bible  is  out  of  the  question,"  was  his  reply. 

The  words,  however,  of  the  venerable  Plato ff 
remained  upon  his  mind,  and  he  shortly  afterwards 
privately  bought  and  read  the  Bible.  The  effects 
were  soon  visible.  He  was  not  known  to  be  a 
"Bible-reader,"  but  his  manners  were  treated  with 
contempt. 

In  the  year  1812,  when  information  reached  St. 
Petersburg  that  Napoleon's  armies  had  entered  Mos- 
cow, a  general  panic  came  upon  the  inhabitants,  and 
they  packed  up  their  valuables  to  flee  to  some  place 
of  security,  fully  expecting  that  the  French  would 
soon  march  upon  the  capital.  The  emperor  was  also 
preparing  to  go  out  with  a  body  of  troops  from  the 
city  to  withstand  the  invading  foe. 

During  all  this  time  Prince  Galitzin  remained  calm 
and  unconcerned,  and  had  a  large  number  of  men 
employed  in  repairing  his  palace,  which  he  continued 
to  go  on  with,  notwithstanding  the  prevailing  fear. 
His  companions  were  astonished  at  his  course,  and 
some  envious  persons  told  the  emperor  what  he  was 
doing,  and  ventured  to  hint  that  he  might  be  a  traitor, 
who  had  some  secret  understanding  with  the  invad- 
ing foe.  Alexander  sought  an  interview  with  the 
prince,  who  was  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  acquaint 
the  emperor  with  the  foundation  upon  which  his  con- 
fidence was  built. 

"Galitzin,"  said  the  emperor,  "what  are  you  doing? 
What  means  all  this?  every  one  prepares  to  flee,  and 
you  are  building ! " 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  289 

"Oh,"  said  the  prince,  "I  am  here  in  as  sure  a  place 
of  safety  as  any  I  could  flee  to ;  the  Lord  is  my 
defense." 

"Whence  have  you  such  confidence?"  replied  the 
emperor.  "Who  assures  you  of  it?" 

"I  feel  it  in  my  heart,  and  it  is  also  stated  in  this 
divinely  inspired  volume,"  answered  the  prince, 
drawing  from  his  pocket  and  holding  forth  a  small 
Bible, — a  book  which  the  emperor  had  never  seen 
before.  He  put  out  his  hand  to  receive  it,  but  by 
some  inadvertence  it  dropped  on  the  floor,  opening  as 
it  fell.  The  prince  raised  the  sacred  volume,  glanced 
at  the  open  page,  and  said, — 

"Well,  permit  me  to  read  to  you  in  that  very 
place  at  which  the  Bible  lies  open  before  us." 

It  was  that  wonderful  passage,  the  ninety-first 
Psalm : 

"He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most 
High  shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty. 
I  will  say  of  the  Lord,  he  is  my  refuge,  and  my 
fortress,  my  God;  in  him  will  I  trust.  Surely  he 
shall  deliver  thee  from  the  snare  of  the  fowler,  and 
from  the  noisome  pestilence.  He  shall  cover  thee 
with  his  feathers,  and  under  his  wings  shalt  thou 
trust ;  his  truth  shall  be  thy  shield  and  buckler. 
Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the  terror  by  night ;  nor 
for  the  arrow  that  flieth  by  day ;  nor  for  the  pesti- 
lence that  walketh  in  darkness  ;  nor  for  the  destruc- 
tion that  waste th  at  noon-day.  A  thousand  shall 
fall  at  thy  side,  and  ten  thousand  at  thy  right  hand  ; 

but  it  shall  not  come  nigh  thee.     Only  with  thine 
10 


290  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

eyes  shalt  thou  behold  and  see  the  reward  of  the 
wicked.  Because  thou  hast  made  the  Lord,  which 
is  my  refuge,  even  the  Most  High,  thy  habitation ; 
there  shall  no  evil  befall  thee ;  neither  shall  any 
plague  come  nigh  thy  dwelling.  For  he  shall  give 
his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy 
ways.  They  shall  bear  thee  up  in  their  hands,  lest 
thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone.  Thou  shalt  tread 
upon  the  lion  and  adder;  the  young  lion  and  the 
dragon  shalt  thou  trample  under  feet. 

"Because  he  hath  set  his  love  upon  me,  therefore 
will  I  deliver  him;  I  will  set  him  on  high,  because 
he  hath  known  my  name.  He  shall  call  upon  me, 
and  I  will  answer  him ;  I  will  be  with  him  in  trouble, 
I  will  deliver  him,  and  honor  him.  With  long  life 
will  I  satisfy  him ;  and  show  him  my  salvation." 

"Oh,  that  your  majesty  would  seek  this  retreat !" 
said  the  prince,  as  he  read  the  inspiring  words. 

The  emperor  stood  for  a  while  as  a  man*  aston- 
ished. His  army  was  at  this  time  marching  out  of 
the  city,  and  as  was  customary,  he  repaired  to  the 
great  church  for  public  worship, — that  being  the  last 
place  the  emperor  visits  when  leaving  the  capi- 
tal to  be  absent  any  considerable  time.  Entering 
there,  the  religious  services  proceeded,  and  the  offi- 
ciating priest  read  before  the  wondering  emperor 
the  same  ninety-first  Psalm.  After  the  service  he  sent 
for  the  priest,  and  asked  if  Galitzin  had  mentioned 
the  circumstances  of  their  interview.  The  priest 
replied  that  he  had  heard  nothing  of  the  matter. 

"Who  told  you  to  make  choice  of  that  particular 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  291 

passage  this  day?"  said  the  emperor.  The  priest 
replied  that  nobody  had  done  it,  but  that  he  had 
desired  in  prayer  that  the  Lord  would  direct  him  to 
the  particular  portion  of  the  inspired  volume  he 
should  read,  to  encourage  the  emperor,  and  that  he 
apprehended  that  Psalm  was  the  word  of  the  Lord 
to  him. 

The  emperor  proceeded  on  his  way  some  distance, 
and  late  in  the  evening,  feeling  a  great  seriousness 
of  mind,  he  sent  for  his  chaplain  to  read  the  Bible 
to  him  in  his  tent.  He  came  and  began  to  read — 
"He  that  (Jwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most 
High  shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty." 

"Hold,"  said  the  emperor.  "Who  told  you  to 
read  that?" 

"God,"  said  the  chaplain. 

"How?"  said  the  emperor.  "Has  Galitzin  told 
you?" 

He  replied  that  he  had  not  seen  the  prince,  nor 
had  any  one  told  him  what  to  read.  "Surprised  at 
your  sending  for  me,"  continued  the  chaplain,  "I  fell 
upon  my  knees  before  God,  and  besought  him  to 
teach  my  weak  lips  what  to  speak.  I  felt  that  part 
of  the  holy  Word  clearly  pointed  out  to  me.  Why 
your  majesty  interrupted  me  I  know  not." 

The  emperor  felt  astonished  at  this,  and  paid  the 
greater  attention  to  what  was  read,  believing  that 
this  must  be  of  the  Lord's  ordering  ;  he  was  therefore 
very  solemnly  and  tenderly  impressed,  and  from  that 
time  he  concluded,  morning  and  evening,  to  read 
privately  a  chapter  in  the  Bible.  The  next  day  he 


292       .  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

was  with  the  Princess  Metchersky,  at  Tver.  They 
agreed  to  begin  the  Bible  together,  regularly  to 
read  it  every  day,  so  that  they  might  both  read  the 
same  portion  on  the  same  day,  and  be  able  to  com- 
municate to  one  another  the  particular  impressions 
or  reflections  the  reading  of  the  day  might  have 
produced. 

The  world  knows  what  was  the  end  of  the  French 
invasion  of  Russia.  Moscow  was  burned  by  its 
inhabitants,  and  of  Napoleon's  mighty  army,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  were  slain,  one 
hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  died  of  fatigue, 
hunger,  disease,  and  cold,  in  their  disastrous  retreat, 
and  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  thousand  were 
made  prisoners  ;  and  the  expedition,  undertaken  in  a 
haughty  contempt  of  the  government  and  providence 
of  God,  ended  in  the  downfall  of  its  leader,  and  the 
overthrow  of  his  mighty  hosts. 

As  for  the  emperor,  the  impressions  made  upon 
his  mind  by  that  psalm  were  not  transient.  He  took 
Galitzin's  Bible,  and,  to  use  his  own  language,  "I 
devoured  it,  finding  in  it  words  so  suitable  to,  and 
descriptive  of ,  the  state  of  my  mind.  The  Lord,  by 
his  divine  Spirit,  was  also  pleased  to  give  me  an 
understanding  of  what  I  read  therein  ; — it  is  to  this 
inward  teacher  alone  that  I  am  indebted  ; — therefore 
I  consider  divine  Inspiration,  or  the  teachings  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  as  the  sure  foundation  of  saving 
knowledge." 

Such  was  his  testimony  to  Stephen  Grellet  and 
William  Allen,  two  members  of  the  Society  of 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  293 

Friends,  who  visited  him,  while  employed  in  gospel 
labor  in  St.  Petersburg,  seven  years  afterwards,  in 
1819.  They  found  him  a  man  of  tender  heart,  and 
at  repeated  interviews  the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias 
bowed  the  knee  and  united  in  fervent  prayer  with 
these  two  lowly  men  of  God,  in  the  presence  of  Him 
who  is  higher  than  kings  and  'mightier  than  emperors, 
whose  throne  is  in  the  heavens,  and  whose  kingdom 
ruleth  over  all. 

Most  of  the  circumstances  in  this  account  are  re- 
corded by  Grellet,  in  his  journal,  as  received  from 
the  lips  of  prince  Galitzin  himself  the  day  before 
they  left  St.  Petersburg  to  pursue  their  journey  to 
the  regions  beyond,  whither  they  went  to  carry 
tidings  of  Him  who  came  to  bring  peace  on  earth  and 
good  will  toward  men. 

A  STKEAM  IN  THE  DESEET. 

I  knew  a  man  of  God  who  earned  his  bread  by  the 
sweat  of  his  brow.  It  was  impossible  to  observe 
him  and  not  to  feel  that  he  was  separated  from  those 
around  him  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
He  told  me  in  deep  humility  that  he  could  not  "  speak 
for  the  Lord,"  by  which  I  discovered  that  he  meant 
that  he  could  not  accost  strangers  on  the  subject  of 
their  personal  salvation.  If  he  could  not  speak  to 
man,  he  could  to  God  ;  and  never  shall  I  forget  the 
first  time  I  heard  his  voice  raised  in  supplication  and 
prayer  at  a  little  wayside  gathering.  I  knew  not 
from  whom  it  proceeded,  but  I  felt,  whoever  it  was, 
that  soul  had  power  with  God. 


294  THE  GUIDING  HAND. 

He  went  to  live  in  a  village  where  none  cared  for 
anything  beyond  this  present  life  ;  he  was  a  stranger, 
indeed,  among  them.  Early  and  late  he  labored  in 
the  fields,  but  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth  had 
ordained  a  blessing  for  this  dark  hamlet  when  he 
sent  his  servant  there,  and  a  river  of  the  water  of 
life  was  to  flow  through  this  solitary  man,  unseen  by 
all  save  the  One  that  keepeth  Israel,  and  neither 
slumbers  nor  sleeps. 

Yet  the  servant  of  God  was  not  required  for  this 
ministry  to  forsake  his  calling,  but  to  follow  the 
Lord  in  it.  He  lived  in  a  poor,  thatched  cottage,  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  village  ;  and  when  his  work  was 
done,  seated  by  the  low  casement  of  his  room  in 
summer-time,  he  rested  his  weary  heart  in  close 
communion  with  his  heavenly  Friend.  Dispirited 
by  intercourse  with  the  profane  and  the  mocker,  he 
refreshed  himself  with  new  contemplations  of  the 
covenant  of  grace,  or  pondered  over  the  promises 
which  he  was  every  day  proving  for  himself  were 
priceless  treasures  for  constant  use. 

As  he  communed  with  God  aloud,  and  poured 
forth  his  soul  in  prayer,  a  woman  of  ill  character 
passed  by  the  cottage  door.  The  sound  of  the 
stranger's  voice  arrested  her  steps,  and  she  lingered 
by  the  casement.  She  listened.  Never  before  had 
she  heard  a  soul  speaking  to  the  God  of  its  life  in 
such  glad  thanksgiving  for  redemption  through  the 
blood  of  the  Crucified,  or  imagined  such  holy  bold- 
ness in  approaching  a  mercy-seat  by  her  unsought : 
it  seemed  a  new  language  to  her  ears.  The  prayer 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  295 

ceased.  The  listener,  astonished  and  perplexed, 
went  on  her  way,  and  the  solitary  man,  the  charge 
of  angels,  lay  down  to  sleep.  None  but  God  saw 
that  tiny  rill  of  life  that  followed  a  sinner's  steps, 
whispering,  "Come!  and  let  him  that  heareth  say, 
Come  !  and  let  him  that  is  athirst  come  ;  and  whoso- 
ever will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

Another  day  passed.  The  woman  took  up  her 
station  in  the  twilight  to  listen,  and  the  freedom 
from  condemnation  in  which  the  stranger  rejoiced, 
seemed  to  bind  her  in  chains  of  misery  unfelt  before. 
Her  occupation  was  a  degrading  one.  She  possessed 
a  voice  of  remarkable  power  and  sweetness ;  her 
husband  frequented  the  public  houses  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  she  accompanied  him,  for  he  procured 
from  the  landlord  or  his  guests,  the  beer  or  spirits 
that  he  thirsted  for,  with  the  price  of  his  wife's  com- 
pany and  songs  ! 

Day  by  day  the  singer  marked  the  man  of  God,  to 
see  if  his  life  contradicted  in  any  way  his  desires 
after  holiness,  for  his  prayers  set  a  sign  upon  him, 
and  she  watched  for  his  halting  week  after  week,  and 
watched  in  vain.  While  in  many  a  conflict  and  in 
humble  brokenness  of  spirit  this  lonely  man  seemed 
to  himself  a  cumberer  of  the  ground,  as  far  as  bring- 
ing any  honor  to  God  was  concerned,  yet  through 
him  flowed  the  living  stream  which  should  "turn  the 
wilderness  into  a  standing  water,  and  the  dry  ground 
into  water-springs." 

The  servant  of  the  Lord  slept,  unconscious  of  his 
ministry,  little  dreaming  that  the  words  he  had 


296  THE  GUIDING  HAND. 

spoken  to  the  Lord  in  the  silence  of  that  summer 
evening,  were  disturbing  the  midnight  orgies  of  sin- 
ners to  whom  he  had  never  spoken,  and  who  had 
never  heard  of  his  existence.  The  woman's  heart 
was  heavy,  and  she  could  not  sing !  She  turned 
away  in  bitterness  of  spirit  from  the  scene  of  degra- 
dation in  which  she  had  hitherto  been  contented  to 
dwell.  The  anger  of  her  husband  raged  against  her  ; 
his  gains  were  gone,  and  all  the  means  of  procuring 
his  evening's  wild  revelry  were  over.  His  persecu- 
tion added  to  the  poor  creature's  distress,  but  it  was 
as  nothing  compared  to  the  weight  of  misery  on  her 
soul.  Heavier  and  heavier  pressed  the  burden  of 
her  sins ;  the  way  of  escape  she  knew  not ;  despair 
took  possession  of  her  soul.  Satan  now  thought  the 
prey  was  his  own  ;  he  whispered  that  in  "  death  there 
is  no  remembrance  ;"  but  the  enemy  added  not,  "and 
after  death  the  judgment." 

The  heart-stricken  woman  saw  one  way  only,  and 
she  determined  to  rid  herself  of  a  life  which  had 
become  intolerable  to  her.  One  morning,  when  she 
thought  herself  secure  from  interruption,  she  went  to 
a  neighboring  stable,  and,  tying  a  noose  in  a  rope, 
fastened  it  securely  to  a  beam  in  the  roof,  and  pre- 
pared to  end  an  existence  too  miserable  to  be  borne. 
But,  as  her  foot  was  on  the  edge  of  the  loft  from 
which  she  premeditated  casting  herself  down,  the 
praise  and  thanksgiving  of  the  stranger  for  redemp- 
tion through  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus,  came  flowing 
into  her  mind.  She  knelt ;  she  repeated  her  prayer 
again  and  again :  such  sweetness  came  with  the 


THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

words,  "Redeemed  !  pardoned  !  through  the  precious 
blood  of  God's  dear  Son  ! "  Nor  did  she  pause  ;  nay, 
she  could  not.  As  if  the  flood-gates  of  her  tears  had 
opened  the  way  for  prayer,  it  poured  forth  in  a 
wondrous  tide.  The  sinner  wept  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus  !  The  prey  was  taken  from  the  mighty.  Hour 
after  hour  went  by  ;  she  heeded  it  not,  and  daylight 
had  fallen  into  evening  before  her  new-born  joy 
allowed  her  to  perceive  that  the  day  was  spent. 

When  the  servant  of  the  Lord  returned  to  his 
solitary  room,  it  was  to  find  a  rejoicing  child  of  the 
faith  awaiting  him,  the  fruit  of  those  days  that  seemed 
of  no  account,  save  that  he  walked  in  fellowship 
with  Jesus.  He  had  lived  near  the  fountain  ;  the 
stream  that  flowed  in  refreshment  through  his  own 
soul,  had  given  life  to  the  weary  one  without. 

Year  after  year,  from  many  a  prayer-meeting,  arose 
the  voice  of  the  rescued  minstrel,  clear  and  strong, 
in  strains  of  praise  to  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life. 
And  not  alone  ; — her  husband  was  by  her  side,  the  first 
to  give  heed  to  her  words,  and  to  believe  her  witness 
to  the  Lord's  long-suffering  mercy  to  himself.  Heaven 
alone  can  declare  the  harvest  of  that  lonely  man  who 
walked  with  God. 

The  faithful  Christian  is  mighty  in  unconscious 
power.  His  soul,  as  it  gravitates  towards  God,  ini- 
pressses  those  with  whom  he  may  have  to  do.  The 
silent  life,  the  godly  walk,  the  steadfast  faith,  the 
single-hearted  service  of  a  Christian  man,  is  more 
potent  than  the  strife  and  babble  of  many  a  noisy 
tongue  that  only  proclaims  the  emptiness  of  the  heart 


298  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

from  which  it  speaks.  And  the  Christian  can  be  in 
no  circumstances  however  untoward,  no  position  how- 
ever secluded,  where  God  cannot  use  him  for  his 
glory.  The  circle  of  divine  possibilites  reaches  far 
beyond  the  stretch  of  human  perceptions.  Christ 
"must  needs  go  through  Samaria,"  in  his  journey  to 
Jerusalem,  and  though  the  Jews  might  disapprove 
the  act,  yet  it  was  a  blessed  necessity  that  led  the 
Son  of  God  to  sit  faint  and  weary  by  the  side  of 
Jacob's  well  in  the  vale  of  Sychar,  for  thus  the 
poor  water-carrying  woman  heard  the  tidings  of  the 
well  of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life,  and 
thus  many  of  the  Samaritans  believed. 

So  we,  in  circumstances  most  unpromising,  must 
remember  that  there  is  a  "need  be"  for  all  our  "heav- 
iness through  manifold  temptations  ;"  that  if  not  useful 
to  ourselves  our  trials  may  be  profitable  to  those 
around  us ;  and  we  may  still  be  unconscious  instru- 
ments of  blessing  to  those  about  us  when  in  our  own 
hearts  we  feel  ourselves  but  cumberers  of  the  ground, 
or  weary  wanderers  in  a  dark  and  desert  land.  In  all 
the  desert's  dreariness,  God  yet  will  lead  us  by  his 
cloudy  pillar,  and  guide  us  by  his  guiding  hand. 


THE  LIGHT-COLOKED  COAT. 

The  influence  of  a  right  act,  done  under  a  divine 
impulse,  can  never  be  fully  foreseen  by  man.  No 
matter  how  slight  the  service,  or  how  trivial  the  offer- 
ing, the  Lord  who  giveth  the  increase  can  cause  its 
fruit  to  abound.  Much  zealous  and  bustling  benevo- 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  299 

lence  does  no  good,  but  may  be  a  fruitful  source  of 
evil,  while  again  some  little  deed,  like  Shiloah's 
waters,  "that  go  softly,"  carries  refreshment  and 
mercy  to  many  a  weary  soul. 

We  sometimes  hear  of  maladministration  of  soci- 
eties, and  diversion  of  benevolent  funds  to  pay  the 
salaries  of  the  idle,  the  incompetent,  or  the  selfish, 
who  carry  "the  bag;"  and  the  question  arises  some- 
times, "Was  this  really  the  Lord's  money?  or  was  it 
money  ground  from  the  poor  by  some  hypocrite  who 
devoured  widows'  houses  in  secret,  and  gave  alms  to 
be  seen  of  men?  Was  it  the  spontaneous  out-gush 
of  benevolent  hearts  and  hands  ?  or  was  it  money 
diverted  from  its  proper  purposes  and  uses  by  some 
professional  beggar,  employed  to  coax  and  tease  and 
wheedle  and  misrepresent,  to  get  money  from  men, 
which  would  not  have  been  given  with  a  full  and  fair 
knowledge  of  the  actual  facts  in  the  case  ?" 

On  the  other  hand,  we  hear  of  a  tribe  of  heathen, 
converted  by  a  single  tract ;  or  of  a  vile  sinner  thus 
brought  to  Christ  and  made  a  flaming  messenger  of 
salvation  to  the  lost ;  and  when  the  question  is  asked, 
"Whose  penny  paid  for  that  tract?"  though  we  can 
not  always  give  a  definite  answer,  yet  our  faith  loves 
to  believe  that  it  was  not  the  ample  donation  of  some 
wealthy  worldling,  or  the  liberal  alms  given  to  be 
seen  of  men,  heralded  in  newspapers,  and  mentioned 
in  annual  reports  ;  but  rather  the  scanty  mite  of  some 
poor  widow,  who,  out  of  her  privation  and  necessity, 
hath  cast  in  all  her  living,  bedewing  it  with  tears  and 
following  it  with  prayers,  and  whose  offering,  Jesus, 


300  THE    GUIDING   HAKD. 

who  "sat  over  against  the  treasury,"  and  marked  the 
gift,  followed  with  his  eye  and  attended  with  his  bless- 
ing, until  its  fruits  began  to  be  manifest ;  and  who  will 
continue  to  care  for  and  increase  it  until  its  full  per- 
fection in  the  final  harvest  day. 

But  sometimes  in  this  world  the  chain  of  causes 
and  effects  is  more  distinctly  visible ;  and  they  who 
labor  in  the  service  of  the  Lord,  and  strive  to  do  good 
to  their  fellow-men,  are  permitted,  even  here,  to  see 
such  results  of  their  labors  as  give  encouragement  to 
their  hearts,  and  teach  them  that  they  have  not  toiled 
in  vain.  Such  an  instance  is  seen  in  the  case  of  the 
"light-colored  coat." 

We  do  not  know  the  origin  or  early  history  of  this 
useful  garment.  Who  made  it,  sold  it,  bought  it, 
wore  it,  and  laid  it  aside,  or  who  packed  it  up  and 
sent  it  to  the  office  of  The  Revival  newspaper,  in 
London,  we  can  not  tell. 

We  know  nothing  of  all  these  matters,  but  this 
much  we  know,  the  "light-colored  coat"  was  sent  to 
some  city  missionaries  in  the  east  of  London,  who  are 
fighting  with  might  and  main  against  sin,  shame,  dirt, 
darkness,  disease,  death,  and  the  devil ;  with  preach- 
ing, prayer,  porridge,  knowledge,  coats,  garments, 
shoes,  soap,  water,  fire,  and  every  thing  else  that 
they  can  press  into  the  work  as  an  instrument  of 
blessing  to  poor,  lost,  degraded,  sinful  men. 

Among  the  distressed  and  lowly  ones  there  was  an 
aged  weaver,  who  had  lived  all  his  long  life  in  utter 
neglect  of  God.  His  daughter,  the  poor  and  afflicted 
tnother  of  an  afflicted  family,  mourned  night  and  day 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  301 

over  her  father's  lost  condition,  and  vainly  strove  to 
lead  him  to  the  house  of  prayer.  His  constant  excuse 
for  not  going  to  church  was,  he  had  no  coat  to  wear. 
If  they  would  procure  a  coat,  he  would  stay  away  no 
longer.  The  large,  "light-colored  coat"  came  in  due 
time.  It  was  given  to  him,  and  his  excuse -was  taken 
away,  and  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  enter  the  Gospel 
Hall,  where  Mr.  Lewis  preached  the  word  of  salva- 
tion ;  and  there,  in  all  his  poverty,  wretchedness,  and 
sin,  the  Lord  met  him,  and  blessed  him  with  light 
and  life  and  joy  and  peace. 

In  his  old  age  and  his  poverty  he  found  his  way 
into  the  "work-house"  at  Bethnal  Green,  where  he 
ended  his  weary  life  in  the  grace  and  peace  of  Christ. 
Speaking  of  his  closing  hours  the  missionary  says,  in 
The  Revival,  "I  much  wish  these  lines  could  reach 
the  eye  of  one  from  whom  a  large,  light-colored  coat 
was  sent,  and,  through  your  kindness,  forwarded  to 
me  ;  for  a  message  has  been  brought  me  from  a  death- 
bed in  Bethnal  Green  work-house,  from  one  I  have 
never  seen,  saying  that  he  prayed  with  his  dying 
breath,  that  every  garment  I  gave  away  might  be  as 
dear  and  as  precious  to  souls  as  that  had  been  to  him, 
often  repeating  again  and  again  with  tears,  'That 
coat  has  been  the  saving  of  my  soul.'"' 

Those  lines  of  acknowledgement  may  never  have 
reached  the  eye  for  which  they  were  designed,  but 
when  the  great  Judge  shall  remember  and  reward 
even  a  cup  of  cold  water  given  in  a  disciple's  name  ; 
when  the  poor  old  weaver  who  died  among  the  pau- 
pers of  Bethnal  Green,  shall  stand  in  white  raiment 


302  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

before  the  throne  of  glory ;  when  the  faithful  giver 
shall  hear  the  words,  "I  was  naked  and  ye  clothed 
me,"  and,  "Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  did  it  unto  me,"  from 
the  lips  of  the  King  of  saints, — then  the  poor  weaver 
may  know  who  gave,  and  the  cheerful  giver  may 
learn  who  received,  this  needful  garment,  and  to 
whom  it  was  thus  blessed  of  God. 

And  when  that  day  comes,  and  such  results  are  all 
shown  forth  to  the  world;  when  acts  of  kindness 
done  in  secret  for  the  Saviour's  sake,  shall  shine  out 
illuminated  beneath  the  Saviour's  smile,  will  the 
giver  of  this  garment  regret  the  gift,  or  sorrow  that 
it  was  not  left  to  be  a  hiding-place  for  moths,  or 
grudgingly  say,  "It  was  too  good  to  give  away?" 

And  this  suggests  another  question  :  are  there  not 
other  light-colored  coats,  and  dark-colored  coats,  too, 
in  every  city  where  Christians  dwell,  which  might  be 
used  in  similar  ways  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  lost  men  ?  and  would  it  not  be  well  for 
Christians,  instead  of  laying  up  garments  for  moths 
to  devour,  to  ransack  their  closets  and  garrets,  and 
send  their  surplus  raiment  where  it  will  be  of  use  to 
some  who  are  perishing  in  poverty  and  want  and  sin, 
thus  proving  to  a  gainsaying  and  selfish  world,  that 
they  still  "remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
how  he  said,  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive  ?" 

"  Make  channels  for  the  streams  of  lore, 

Where  they  may  broadly  run ; 
And  love  has  overflowing  streams, 

To  fill  them  every  one." 


THE   GUIDING    HAND.  303 

THE  RAILWAY  INTERVIEW. 

God  finds  work  for  willing  hearts  and  ready  hands  ; 
and  there  is  no  spot  where  we  can  not  glorify  him  if 
we  but  follow  him  fully  and  trust  in  him  with  all  our 
hearts.  It  needs  only  that  we  be  personally  purged 
from  defilement,  and  thus  be  made  vessels  unto  honor, 
fitted  for  the  Master's  use,  and  he  will  use  such  for 
his  glory  and  the  good  of  those  around  us.  The  fol- 
lowing incident  from  the  British  Messenger  will 
illustrate  this  truth : 

A  child  of  God  in  early  life,  residing  in  the  sub- 
urbs of  a  large  city,  to  which  she  rode  daily  by  the 
railway  train,  was  painfully  exercised  in  soul  about 
her  duty  to  the  crowds  of  perishing  men  who  were 
her  fellow-travellers  ; — on  the  one  hand,  impelled  to 
speak  to  every  one  of  them  of  their  guilt  and  danger ; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  restrained  by  maidenly  mod- 
esty and  a  fear  that,  by  unbecoming  forwardness,  she 
might  bring  reproach  upon  the  name  of  Him  whom 
she  desired  to  serve.  Her  sufferings  on  this  account 
prepared  her  to  be  led  into  closer  fellowship  with  the 
Lord ;  and  she  was  taught  to  place  herself  in  his 
hands,  to  walk  in  him,  looking  for  the  opportunity  as 
well  as  the  strength  for  service. 

On  the  first  morning  after  she  had  been  led  to  this 
blessed  resting-place,  she  went  out  with  a  heart  un- 
burdened and  free,  rejoicing  in  the  Lord,  and  looking 
up  to  know  what  he  would  have  her  to  do.  The  car- 
riage she  entered  was  already  over-crowded  ;  but  soon 
she  observed  a  woman  beckoning  to  her,  and  removing 


304  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

some  bundles  from  a  seat  by  her  side.  When  they 
were  seated  together,  the  woman,  seeking  sympathy, 
as  well  as  information  about  her  journey,  said  that 
she  had  been  summoned  to  a  distant  part  of  the 
country,  to  attend  a  sister  on  her  death-bed. 

"Is  your  sister  prepared  to  die  ?  "  asked  our  young 
friend. 

"Oh!"  said  the  woman,  "I  wish  I  were  as  well 
prepared  as  she  has  been  for  many  years." 

"Are  you  not  a  Christian,  then?" 

The  woman .  looked  earnestly  in  the  face  of  the 
questioner,  as  if  to  determine  the  motive  with  which 
the  question  had  been  asked ;  and  then  began  to  tell, 
with  much  emotion,  how  a  letter  from  a  dying  sister 
had  been  the  means  of  awakening  her  to  a  sense  of 
her  condition  as  a  sinner,  and  of  the  agony  she  had 
endured  for  some  weeks,  while  she  knew  no  Chris- 
tian to  whom  she  could  unbosom  her  trouble. 

The  opportunity  had  been  given,  and  the  message 
was  not  withheld,  which  was  a  word  of  power. 

"I  believe  the  Lord  himself  sent  you  to  me,"  was 
the  conclusion  of  the  grateful  and  relieved  sinner  as 
they  parted.  And  that  was  precisely  the  conclusion 
of  the  young  believer,  who  found,  in  the  very  outset 
of  a  new  course  of  service,  that  it  is  no  vain  thing  to 
wait  upon  him. 

Believer,  you  may  have  the  same  proof  of  his 
faithfulness  at  every  step  of  your  course.  Here  was 
a  heart  prepared  for  the  message ;  here  also  was  one 
prepared  to  bear  the  message  ;  and  both  guided  unerr- 
ingly to  the  meeting-place,  and  that  one  of  the  last 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  305 

places  man  would  have  chosen.  Was  it  a  chance 
meeting  ?  No  more  than  it  was  by  chance  that  the 
woman  came  at  that  very  time  to  Jacob's  well,  or  that 
Jesus  reached  the  gate  of  Nain  just  in  time  to  meet 
that  funeral  procession,  or  that  the  same  Jesus  met 
Saul  of  Tarsus  on  the  way  to  Damascus.  But,  O 
believer !  how  blessed  it  is  to  go  thus  quietly  with 
your  hand  in  His  ;  not  driven,  but  led  to  the  place  of 
service  :  knowing  all  the  while  that  the  work  is  not 
yours,  but  his  "who  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and 
to  do." 

A  HYMN  IN  A  TAVEKN. 

I  have  read  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  who,  while 
traveling,  I  think  in  one  of  the  western  states, 
stopped  at  a  wayside  inn  to  obtain  refreshments  for 
himself  and  beast.  During  his  tarry  there,  he  felt 
strongly  impressed  to  sing  a  certain  hymn  ;  and 
unusual  as  it  might  seem,  he  was  not  disobedient  to 
the  Spirit's  voice,  but  lifted  his  solemn  song,  and 
through  it,  poured  out  the  pent-up  longings  of  his 
heart  for  the  salvation  of  those  for  whom  Christ  had 
died. 

The  song  ended.  He  called  for  his  horse,  and 
pursued  his  journey,  little  thinking  what  precious  seed 
he  had  planted  in  that  lonely  spot.  Many  years  after 
he  passed  that  way  again,  and  was  greeted  as  a  friend 
by  those  whom  he  had  almost  forgotten. 

He  found  the  lady  of  the  house,  and  some  of  her 
family,  had  entered  the  path  of  Christian  discipleship, 


306  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

and  were  striving  to  follow  Jesus  in  the  way ;  and 
they  told  him  there  that  that  sacred  song  was  blessed 
of  God,  and  made  the  instrument  of  awakening  them 
from  their  carnal  slumbers,  and  arousing  them  to  seek 
and  serve  the  Lord. 

How  many  souls ,  groveling  in  the  midst  of  earthly 
cares,  have  thus  been  caught  up  on  wings  of  sacred 
song,  and  borne  heavenward  with  new  and  strong 
desires.  Let  us  bless  God  for  this  precious  gift,  and 
so  use  it  here  that  when  the  eternal  song  begins,  our 
voices  shall  not  be  found  untrained,  but  shall  take  up 
the  blessed  anthem,  and  sing  the  praise  of  Him  who 
loved  us,  and  gave  himself  for  us,  and  redeemed  us 
by  his  blood  out  of  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  under  heaven. 


A  SUICIDE  PREVENTED. 

The  Evangelical  Messenger  records  the  following 
incident,  related  by  Mrs  Wittenmyer,  in  an  address 
at  Cleveland,  Ohio : 

On  a  Monday  morning,  not  very  long  ago,  a 
Christian  lady  sat  at  her  sewing  machine,  busy  with 
her  work,  but  thinking  on  other  things.  Her  heart 
was  troubled  because  of  her  unfaithfulness.  She  had 
neglected  to  labor  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  and 
queried,  " But  what  can  I  do?"  A  still  small  voice 

suggested,  "You  might  have  spoken  to  Mr.  B , 

when  you  purchased  Carrie's  shoes  on  Saturday ;  it 
is  not  too  late  yet."  Her  thoughts  turned  to  the  fact 
that  she  had  known  and  traded  with  Mr,  B for 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  307 

nearly  three  years,  and  had  never  spoken  a  word  to 
him  about  his  spiritual  and  eternal  welfare.  The 
question  arose,  "Would  I  be  willing  to  meet  him  at 
the  judgment,  with  such  a  record  of  unfaithfulness 
against  me  ?  "  The  thought  was  startling.  She  could 
not  take  such  a  risk.  She  promptly  left  her  work 
and  went  to  his  store.  He  was  alone.  Addressing 
him,  she  said: 

"Mr.   B ,  I  have  been  thinking  of  you  this 

morning,  and  I  am  troubled  on  account  of  my 
unfaithfulness.  I  have  known  you  for  nearly  three 
years,  and  have  never  spoken  to  you  about  the 
interests  of  your  soul ;  and  I  have  come  to  talk  with 
you  now,  for  I  could  not  be  willing  to  meet  you  at 
the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  without  speaking  to  you 
on  that  subject." 

While  she  spoke,  he  was  powerfully  affected,  and 
said  to  her,  "You  little  know  what  I  was  thinking  of 
when  you  came  in  :  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  take 
my  own  life,  and  was  trying  to  determine  whether  to 
use  poison  or  a  pistol.  But  when  you  made  known  the 
object  of  your  coming,  I  knew  that  God  had  sent  you 
to  me."  He  was  led  to  abandon  his  wicked  purpose, 
and  turned  to  Christ  for  salvation. 

"A  word  spoken  in  due  season,  how  good  is  it !  "  You 
can  never  know  what  you  can  do  for  the  salvation  of 
sinners  until  you  have  made  the  proper  effort.  Oh, 
neglect  not  this  important  duty  !  Labor  daily  to  win 
souls  to  Jesus.  "He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise," 
and  the  "wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament," 


308  THE   GUIDING    HANI). 

THE  SCATTERED  TRACTS. 

A  Christian  lady,  whom  I  shall  call  Miss  E , 

narrated  to  me  the  following  interesting  coincidence  : 

" The  other  day,"  said  she,  "I  happened  to  take  up, 
quite  casually,  an  old  magazine,  and  found  in  it  a 
story  of  a  man  who  was  converted  in  India,  in  a 
rather  curious  way.  The  man  called  on  a  missionary, 
and  begged  to  know  if  he  had  ever  heard  of  Dr. 
Hawker,  and  if  he  could  direct  him  to  any  of  his 
writings.  The  missionary  gave  him  what  information 
he  possessed,  concerning  the  works  of  the  venerable 
doctor,  and  wished  to  know  what  special  reason  he 
had  for  making  the  inquiry. 

"  'Sir,'  said  the  stranger,  'I  once  went  down  to 
the  shore  near  the  place  where  I  was  residing,  in 
order  to  see  a  vessel  sail  for  England.  The  ship  was 
gone  before  I  arrived,  and  the  people  who  had  gath- 
ered to  see  her  off  were  dispersing.  As  I  was  turning 
to  go  home,  I  noticed,  scattered  along  the  beach,  a 
number  of  pieces  of  paper,  many  of  which  I  picked 
up.  I  found  that  they  were  tracts,  written  by  one 
Dr.  Hawker ;  I  read  them  with  interest,  and  God 
blessed  them  to  my  soul.  Before  then,  I  was  igno- 
rant of  the  way  of  salvation,  and  knew  nothing 
experimentally  of  Christ.  They  led  me  to  see  that 
Christ  was  everything;  they  led  me  to  my  Bible,  to 
my  God,  to  my  Saviour.  And  now  I  feel  a  great 
desire  to  read  whatever  other  works  this  good  man 
has  written,  if  I  can  procure  them.' 

"Such,"  continued  Miss  E ,  "was  the  substance 

of  the  narrative,  and  it  was  perused  by  me  with  the 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  309 

most  engrossing  interest ;  not  merely  as  an  example 
of  the  strange  ways  in  which  sinners  are  sometimes 
brought  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  receive  Christ,  but 
because  of  its  remarkable  coincidence  with  a  circum- 
stance in  which  I  was  personally  interested,  and 
which  I  will  now  detail  to  you. 

"When  I  was  a  child,  I  lived  at  Plymouth;  and 
my  dear  mother,  who  had  long  loved  the  Lord,  was 
a  constant  attendant  on  Dr.  Hawker's  ministry,  which, 
in  common  with  all  who  heard  him,  she  greatly  val- 
ued. My  father  had  been  dead  many  years ;  but  I 
had  one  brother,  who  was,  unhappily,  rather  wild,  and 
fast  getting  beyond  my  poor  mother's  control.  Liv- 
ing in  a  great  sea-port,  he  had  imbibed  a  strong 
desire  to  see  the  world,  and  nothing  would  serve  but 
that  he  must  go  to  sea. 

"This  resolution  was  most  painful  to  my  mother, 
who  labored  hard  to  dissuade  him  from  it,  though 
with  little  success.  In  her  trouble  she  sought  the 
counsel  of  her  kind  friend  and  pastor,  who,  soon  per- 
ceiving that  my  brother  was  not  likely  to  settle  on 
shore,  exerted  his  interest  to  procure  him  a  berth  on 
board  an  East  Indiaman,  the  commander  of  which  he 
knew  to  be  a  worthy  man,  and  likely  to  look  after 
him.  He  also  took  an  opportunity  of  giving  my 
poor  brother  much  sound  advice  ;  and  my  mother 
took  care  that  he  should  not  depart  without  his  Bible, 
and  a  copious  supply  of  good  Dr.  Hawker's  tracts. 
The  former  she  instructed  him  to  read  daily  ;  the  lat- 
ter she  made  him  promise  to  distribute  during  his 
stay  in  India. 


310  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

"My  brother  remained  abroad  several  years,  and 
when  at  length  he  returned,  my  mother,  who  had  not 
forgotten  the  tracts,  reminded  him  of  his  engage- 
ment, and  asked  what  he  had  done  with  them.  He 
acknowledged  that  a  false  shame  had  prevented  him 
from  giving  them  away  until  he  was  upon  the  point 
of  returning  to  Europe,  when  the  remembrance  of 
his  promise,  and  his  unwillingness  to  face  his  mother 
without  some  kind  of  a  performance  of  it,  induced 
him  to  think  what  he  could  do  with  them.  'So,' 
said  he,  *I  took  the  whole  packet,  and  strewed  them 
along  the  shore,  the  very  day  we  sailed.  I  thought, 
perhaps  some  one  may  pick  them  up  and  read  them, 
and  so  my  mother's  intentions  may  be  fulfilled  in  this 
way.' 

"My  brother  soon  after  went  to  sea,  and  we  never 
saw  him  again.  But  my  mother  was  a  woman  of 
much  faith  and  prayer,  and  she  always  believed  that 
the  tracts  were  not  lost,  and  that  her  poor  son,  also, 
would  ultimately  be  saved. 

"From  the  tenor  of  his  last  letter  home,  and  from 
the  accounts  we  received  of  his  dying  hour,  we  had 
good  ground  for  hope  that  her  prayers  for  him  were 
answered,  and  that  the  poor  wanderer  really  found  a 
rest  in  the  bosom  of  his  Saviour.  As  to  the  tracts,  I 
had  not  the  least  expectation  of  hearing  any  more  of 
them  in  this  world ;  but  when  I  read  the  story  in  the 
old  magazine,  I  felt  convinced  that  my  mother's 
prayers  for  a  blessing  on  them  had  also  been  heard. 
For,  from  the  agreement  of  place  and  time,  I  have 
not  the  slightest  doubt  but  that  the  tracts  which  the 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  311 

poor  man  picked  up,  and  which  were  made  the  chan- 
nel of  light  and  blessing  to  his  soul,  were  the  identical 
tracts  which  my  brother  had  strewn  on  the  shore. 
How  much  further  the  benefit  flowing  from  them 
may  have  extended,  eternity  may  declare." 

Such  was  my  friend's  tale,  which  I  thought  worthy 
of  being  taken  down,  because  it  shows  how  God  may 
make  use  of  means,  the  most  simple,  and  apparently 
the  most  unlikely,  to  work  his  effectual  purpose.  Of 
course  I  do  not  recommend  such  a  mode  of  distribu- 
ting tracts  as  scattering  them  on  the  sea-shore,  espe- 
cially when  the  motive  was  the  unworthy  one  of 
avoiding  the  cross  of  confessing  Christ.  But  there 
are  two  lessons  suggested  by  the  incident,  the  one 
addressed  to  believers,  the  other  to  unbelievers. 

Should  this  narrative  fall  under  the  eye  of  a  ser- 
vant of  Christ,  I  would  say,  let  it  encourage  you  to 
sow  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom  in  hope.  When 
Dr.  Hawker  wrote  those  tracts,  and  when  the  good 
lady  sent  them  abroad,  neither  of  them  could  form 
the  least  notion  how  the  Lord  would  bless  them ;  but 
they  acted  in  faithfulness  and  in  faith,  and  the  result, 
(perhaps  only  a  portion  of  the  result,)  we  have  seen. 
Every  testimony  to  the  fullness  of  Jesus  is  something, 
however  feeble,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  use,  and 
therefore  is  not  to  be  despised.  "In  the  morning 
sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thine 
hand,  for  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall  prosper 
either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall  be 
alike  good."  (Eccl.  xi.  6.) 

But  to  my  unconverted  readers  I  have  another 


312  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

word.  The  story  is  to  you  a  lesson  of  encourage- 
ment, and  a  lesson  of  responsibility.  What  particu- 
lar line  of  truth  the  scattered  tracts  pursued  I  know 
not ;  but  they  testified  of  Christ ;  and  thus  they  put 
him  that  found  them  under  responsibility  to  believe 
the  record.  Now  I  wish  that  this  page  should  be  to 
you  what  they  were  to  him.  To  you,  as  a  sinner, 
Christ  is  offered  as  a  Saviour.  You  have  destroyed 
yourself,  but  help  is  laid  on  Him.  ''The  Lord  hath 
laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  (Isaiah  liii.  6.) 
God  saw  that  you  were  under  the  guilt  and  curse  of 
sin,  and  that  you  could  do  absolutely  nothing  to  de- 
liver yourself.  But  in  his  wonderful  mercy  he 
ordained  that  his  beloved  Son  should  become  a  man  ; 
that  he  should  be  made  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  that 
"whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life."  (John  iii.  16.) 

And  now  that  you  have  read  this  message,  God 
holds  you  responsible  for  believing  it.  He  commands 
you  to  believe  it,  and  it  is  at  your  peril  if  you  do  not. 
' '  He  that  believeth  not  God  hath  made  him  a  liar ; 
because  he  believeth  not  the  record  that  God  gave  of 
his  Son."  (Uohnv.  10.) 

But  if  you  feel  your  heart  inclined  to  come  to 
Jesus,  there  is  great  encouragement  for  you.  See, 
by  the  poor  man's  case,  how  simple  a  matter  is  sal- 
vation. He  heard  the  testimony  ;  he  believed  it ;  he 
was  saved.  Go,  and  do  likewise,  and  thou  she  It 
prove  the  same  blessed  result.  Salvation  has  ever 
been  just  this  :  the  acceptance  by  a  poor,  lost  sinner, 
of  Jesus  as  a  mighty  Saviour. 


THE   GUIDING  HAND.  313 

PEAY  OYEE  THEM. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Kilpin,  of  Exeter,  an  eminently 
zealous  and  useful  minister  of  Christ,  relates  that  a 
young  woman,  on  his  asking  her  if  she  had  read  the 
tracts  he  gave  her,  answered  with  embarrassment, 
''Yes  ;  "  though  conscious  that  she  had  not  done  so. 
He  then  gave  her  others,  entreating  her  to  pray  over 
them.  She  took  them,  and  when  she  got  home,  threw 
them  behind  her  chamber  door,  saying,  "Pray  over 
them,  indeed  !  No,  I  shall  not  begin  to  pray  over 
books  !  "  But  as  they  lay  there  her  eye  often  rested 
on  them,  and  she  thought  she  heard  them  say,  "Pray 
over  us  !  Pray  over  us  !  "  Probably  her  conscience 
reproached  her  at  such  times  for  the  falsehood  she  had 
uttered  in  telling  Mr.  Kilpin  that  she  had  read  them, 
and  her  imagination  made  the  tracts  vocal  in  repeat- 
ing again  and  again  the  minister's  injunction  to  pray 
over  them. 

At  length  she  thought  she  would  read  them,  merely 
that  she  might  know  what  she  was  asked  to  pray 
over.  The  first  contained  an  anecdote  which  inter- 
ested her ;  the  next  was  on  eternity,  and  affected  her ; 
the  third  was  on  prayer,  and  brought  her  to  her  knees. 
How  remarkable  and  appropriate  were  the  tracts  to 
her  case,  as  well  as  the  order  in  which  she  was  guided 
to  their  perusal !  Was  there  not  a  special  providence 
in  the  subjects  presented  to  her,  and  divine  influence 
exercised  to  lead  her  to  pray?  She  soon  became  a 
member  of  Mr.  Kilpin's  church,  and  an  active  distrib- 
uter of  tracts.  She  afterwards  continued  to  be  an 


314  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

/ 

honorable  member  of  the  church,  married,  and 
became  a  mother;  and  two  of  her  children,  as  Mr. 
Kilpin  believes,  were  brought  into  the  fold  of  the 
Saviour  by  her  pious  care  and  instruction. 


THE  PEKTINENT  TEXT. 

One  Sabbath  morning,  while  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bedell, 
of  Philadelphia,  was  preaching,  a  young  man  passed 
by,  with  a  number  of  companions,  as  gay  and  thought- 
less as  himself.  One  of  them  proposed  to  go  into  the 
church,  saying,  "Let  us  go  and  hear  what  this  man 
has  to  say,  that  everybody  is  running  after."  The 
young  man  made  this  awful  answer:  "No;  I  would 
not  go  into  such  a  place  if  Christ  himself  was 
preaching." 

Some  weeks  after,  he  was  again  passing  the  church, 
and  being  alone,  and  having  nothing  to  do,  he  thought 
he  would  go  in  without  being  observed.  On  opening 
the  door,  he  was  struck  with  awe  at  the  solemn  silence 
of  the  place,  though  it  was  much  crowded.  Every 
eye  was  fixed  on  the  preacher  who  was  about  to 
begin  his  discourse.  His  attention  was  instantly 
caught  by  the  text,  "I  discerned  among  the  youths  a 
young  man  void  of  understanding."  Prov.  vii.  7. 
His  conscience  was  smitten  by  the  power  of  truth. 
He  saw  that  he  was  the  young  man  described.  A 
view  of  his  profligate  life  passed  before  his  eyes,  and, 
for  the  first  time,  he  trembled  under  the  feeling  of 
sin.  He  remained  in  the  church  till  the  preacher  and 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  315 

congregation  had  passed  out ;  then  slowly  returned 
to  his  home.  He  had  early  received  infidel  principles, 
but  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  had  aroused  him  in  his  folly, 
led  him  to  a  constant  attendance  on  the  ministry  of 
Dr.  B. ,  who  had  been  the  instrument  of  awakening 
his  mind.  He  cast  away  his  besetting  sin,  and  gave 
himself  to  a  life  of  virtue  and  holiness.  He  after- 
wards declared  openly  his  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  his  desire  to  devote  himself  to  his  service. 


THE  WAYSIDE  BETHEL. 

The  purposes  of  divine  grace  are  so  entirely  beyond 
the  wisdom  of  mortals,  both  in  their  conception  and 
in  their  execution,  that  man,  unable  to  comprehend 
them  or  pass  judgment  on  them,  has  only  to  follow 
the  direction  of  the  word  and  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and 
leave  the  results  with  him.  The  conviction  of  duty, 
impressed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  never  to  be  disre- 
garded; and  if  we  can  assign  no  reason  for  our 
obedience  to  a  divine  monition,  yet  in  days  to  come 
all  may  be  made  plain  to  those  who  know  and  love 
the  Lord. 

I  have  read  of  a  servant  of  God  who  once,  while 
on  his  journey  to  fulfill  his  ministry,  stopped  at  a 
hotel  for  refreshment,  and  while  there  was  impressed 
to  sing  a  hymn.  He  sung  the  sacred  song  in  deep 
and  melting  strains,  and  having  satisfied  his  con- 
science, went  his  way.  Long  afterwards,  however, 
he  came  to  know  that  that  solemn  song  had  been  the 


316  THE  GUIDING  IIAND. 

arrow  of  God  to  sinner's  hearts,  and  that  lost  souls 
had  thus  been  won  to  Christ. 

And  often  in  such  methods  as  this,  our  heavenly 
Father,  choosing  his  way,  his  means,  his  time,  and 
his  place,  causes  his  people,  when  guided  by  unseen 
guidance  and  in  unknown  ways,  to  become  instru- 
ments of  wondrous  blessing  to  those  whose  faces  they 
have  never  seen.  The  following  circumstance  is  an 

o 

instance  illustrating  this  truth : 

In  the  month  of  July,  1867,  Mr.  H.,  a  laborer 
in  the  gospel  field,  called  at  the  Repository,  and  said, 
"  If  you  have  got  anything  for  me,  I  want  it  in  ten 
minutes, — I  am  going  to  sail  for  Nova  Scotia." 

We  immediately  packed  up  some  fifty  or  sixty  dol- 
lars' worth  of  tracts,  papers,  pamphlets,  etc.,  and 
started  them  for  the  vessel  which  was  just  ready  to 
sail.  The  voyage  was  made,  and  the  missionary 
party  of  four,  consisting  of  Mr.  H.,  his  Christian 
friend  Captain  C.  and  his  wife,  and  Mrs.  P.,  one 
of  "  those  women  that  labor  in  the  gospel,"  landed 
safely  at  Y.,  and  started  on  their  journey,  preach- 
ing, praying,  singing,  and  distributing  tracts  and 
copies  of  THE  CHRISTIAN  along  their  way. 

One  evening,  while  on  their  journey  to  S.,  they 
held  a  meeting  in  a  church  at  A. ,  and  at  the  close 
repaired  to  the  hotel  where  they  tarried  for  the  night. 
In  the  morning,  as  they  had  a  long  journey  before 
them,  they  arose  early,  and  started,  not  waiting  to 
eat,  and  rode  twelve  miles  to  another  tavern,  where 
they  breakfasted. 

Though  they  had  not  had  time  for  their  accustomed 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  317 

family  devotions,  yet  they  felt  no  freedom  of  spirit 
to  tarry  there  and  pray,  and  so  started  again  on  their 
journey.  After  a  short  ride  they  entered  "  the 
long  woods,"  a  vast  forest,  where  for  nine  miles  not 
a  house  was  to  be  seen  on  the  road.  They  had  gone 
a  mile  or  two  into  these  woods,  when  the  impression 
came  upon  them  to  stop  there  and  have  family  wor- 
ship. They  did  so.  The  sisters  remained  in  the 
carriage,  while  the  brethren  alighted  upon  a  large, 
flat  rock  by  the  wayside,  and  there  in  the  solitude  of 
the  primeval  forest  they  read  from  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures those  words  of  eternal  life  which,  are  able  to 
make  us  wise  unto  salvation,  and  kneeling  upon  the 
great  rock  they  poured  out  their  hearts  to  God  in 
prayer  for  his  blessing,  his  "guidance,  and  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Prayer  was  no  novelty  to  that  little  company,  nor 
was  the  divine  blessing  a  strange  or  unwonted  ex- 
perience to  them ;  but  rarely  in  all  their  lives  had 
they  felt  such  a  consciousness  of  the  divine  favor  as 
in  that  blessed  hour.  It  seemed  as  if  the  Lord  was 
especially  near  to  help  and  bless  and  comfort  their 
pilgrim  hearts,  and  make  that  place  forever  sacred 
to  their  memories. 

66 1  thought  of  Bethel,"  said  Mr.  H.,  "  for  surely 
the  Lord  was  in  that  place,  and  we  knew  it ;  and  so 
I  said,  'Let  us  build  a  monument.'  So  I  got  hold  of 
one  end  of  a  big  stone,  and  Captain  C.  hold  of  the 
other,  and  we  laid  it  upon  the  rock,  and  then  another 
upon  that,  and  so  put  stone  upon  stone,  till  the  mon- 
ument was  finished. 


318  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

"Then  we  said,  *  Let  us  leave  a  tract  here  ;'  and  so 
the  sisters  in  the  wagon  selected  one,  entitled,  'One 
more  Invitation,'  and  we  put  it  on  the  top  of  the  pile, 
and  put  a  little  stone  upon  the  corner  of  the  tract  to 
hold  it  down,  that  it  might  not  blow  away,  and  then 
we  knelt  down  again  and  prayed  to  God  to  bless  it, 
and  make  it  the  instrument  of  converting  some  sinner, 
and  then  started  on  our  journey." 

For  nearly  a  hundred  miles  they  scattered  tracts 
and  papers  all  the  way  along  their  course,  and  sent 
them  back  into  the  interior  as  opportunity  was 
afforded,  and  proclaimed  from  place  to  place  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God  to  those  who  had  an 
ear  to  hear.  Returning  over  the  road  some  two  weeks 
later,  they  stopped  beside  the  great  flat  rock ; — the 
tract  was  gone, — they  left  another  and  a  copy  of  THE 
CHRISTIAN  with  it,  prayed  again,  and  having  finished 
their  mission  returned  to  their  homes. 

On  arriving  in  Boston,  Mr.  H.  visited  the  Reposi- 
tory, and  expressed  his  regret  that  he  had  no  means 
to  pay  for  the  tracts  that  had  been  distributed,  one 
solitary  silver  half-dollar  being  the  sum  total  of  the 
receipts  for  the  tracts  and  papers, — though  afterwards, 
when  he  had  expressed  a  desire  that  some  one  would 
give  another  like  it,  "  so  that  the  two  might  jingle," 
a  lady  handed  one  in.  But  we  told  him  to  make 
himself  easy  on  that  score,  for  the  tracts  were  free, 
and  we  were  glad  that  they  were  so  well  distributed. 
He  told  us  then  of  the  scene  by  the  way-side  in  the 
"  nine-mile  woods,"  and  of  the  tracts  left  and  the 
prayers  offered  there  for  the  blessing  on  them. 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  319 

A  few  weeks  after  we  saw  him  again.  He  was  full 
of  joy.  He  rehearsed  the  story  of  the  Bethel  rock, 
and  said  he,  « «  We  have  heard  from  that  tract.  A  man 
on  his  way  through  the  woods  noticed  the  tract,  took 
it  down,  carried  it  along  with  him,  and  it  was  the 
means  of  his  conversion,  glory  to  God  !" 

The  eye  of  sense  might  see  no  special  reason  why 
these  praying  ones  could  not  have  enjoyed  their 
family  devotions  as  well  at  the  hotel  as  in  the  dense 
shades  of  the  "nine-mile  forest,"  but  the  Lord  fore- 
saw the  results  of  that  blessed  hour  of  prayer  upon 
the  way-side  rock.  The  other  tract  and  papers  have 
not  been  heard  from,  but  perhaps  " after  many  days" 
the  scattered  bread  may  be  found  again. 

Till  then  we  must  wait  and  work  and  pray.  And 
while  to  many  this  record  may  seem  as  an  idle  tale, 
and  while  others  may  pass  and  repass  that  way-side 
monument  as  carelessly  as  the  Canaanites  passed  by 
the  stone  that  Jacob  reared  at  Luz,  yet  in  the  memory 
of  the  few  that  worshiped  at  the  way-side  Bethel, 
and  in  the  sight  of  angels  that  wing  their  way  from 
heaven  to  earth,  that  rude  heap  of  stones  in  the  "nine- 
mile  forest"  of  Pubnico,  may  have  a  grandeur  which 
many  a  lofty  monument  does  not  possess,  and  a 
remembrance  when  the  sculptured  memorials  of 
earthly  greatness  shall  all  have  passed  away;  for 
the  beginnings  of  a  new  and  endless  life  in  one  soul, 
may  be  traced  to  that  lonely  place  of  worship.  It 
may  be  that  around  it  will  gather  something  of  the 
interest  which  attaches  to  that  Zion  of  which  it  is 
said,  "The  Lord  shall  count,  when  he  writeth 


320  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

up   the   people,  that   this   man   was    born   there." 

Thus  does  our  Father,  by  his  Spirit's  guiding, 
Direct  the  ways  of  those  who  trust  in  Him ; 

Thus  does  he  bless  the  saints  who  walk  confiding, 
Thus  does  he  save  the  perishing  from  sin. 

And  when  earth's  solemn  mysteries  are  broken, 
In  the  eternal  light  that  God  shall  shed, 

Then  shall  our  praises  loud  and  glad  be  spoken, 
For  all  the  ways  where  he  our  feet  hath  led. 


A  SLEEP— AND  WHAT  CAME  OP  IT. 

The  importance  of  any  single  act  in  human  life  can 
not  be  estimated  by  ignorant  and  short-sighted  mor- 
tals. Insignificant  circumstances  may  shape  the 
mightiest  destinies,  and  untoward  events  may  be 
freighted  with  the  richest  blessings.  Through  the 

O  O  O 

tangled  by-ways  of  disappointment  and  trial,  God 
leads  us  on  to  blessedness  and  rest.  Jesus  "must 
needs  go  through  Samaria,"  and  the  need  was  not 
merely  because  that  region  lay  upon  the  route  to  Jeru- 
salem, but  also  because  there  were  there  lost  sheep 
who  awaited  the  good  Shepherd's  coming,  and  longed 
to  hear  his  voice.  And  though  the  eye  of  sense  only 
saw  a  faint  and  weary  pilgrim  sitting  by  Jacob's  well, 
while  his  disciples  had  gone  into  the  city  to  buy 
bread,  the  eye  of  faith,  looking  back  upon  the  scene, 
beholds  there  the  anointed  messenger  of  God,  wait- 
ing at  the  appointed  time  and  place,  ready  to  speak 
"a  word  in  season"  to  the  sinful  water-carrier, — hav- 
ing meat  to  eat  unknown  to  those  around,  and  bear- 
ing a  message  to  the  poor  Samaritans,  which  led 
many  to  believe  on  Him.  And  so  also  the  servants 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  321 

of  God  are  made  instruments  of  blessing,  often  with- 
out their  knowledge  and  against  all  their  own  calcu- 
lations. "This  also  cometh  forth  from  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  who  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  excellent  in 
working." 

Near  the  close  of  the  month  of  August,  1866,  Mr. 

S ,  a  Christian  brother  from  Philadelphia,  passing 

in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  took  occasion  to  call  at 
THE  SCRIPTURAL  TRACT  REPOSITORY,  that  he  might 
renew  the  friendship  of  other  days,  and  also  person- 
ally acquaint  himself  with  a  work  in  which  he  had 
felt  a  deep  and  active  interest.  A  few  pleasant  hours 
were  spent  in  inspecting  and  discussing  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Repository,  and  the  day  drew  to  a  close. 
The  distance  of  the  writer's  residence  made  it  incon- 
venient for  Mr.  S to  accept  the  invitation  to  share 

his  hospitalities  for  the  night,  and  as  he  was  a  stranger 
in  the  city,  it  was  proposed  to  send  him  to  the  house 
of  a  friend  residing  in  the  vicinity.  The  arrangement 
was  accordingly  suggested  to  the  parties  concerned, 
and  proved  acceptable ;  and  at  the  appointed  hour 
Mr.  S — —  started  for  his  abiding  place,  in  company 
with  his  host,  who  proposed,  as  there  was  a  public 
gathering  in  Faneuil  Hall,  that  they  should  stop  for  a 
little  while,  on  their  way  home,  and  listen  to  the 
proceedings  there. 

They  stopped.  Mr.  S ,  feeling  little  interest  in 

the  objects  of  the  meeting,  seated  himself  at  one  side 
awaiting  the  pleasure  of  his  companion,  and  soon  fell 
asleep.  His  companion,  after  passing  around  the 
hall,  staying  awhile,  and  satisfying  his  curiosity, 


322  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

sought  his  guest  to  escort  him  to  his  residence,  but 
could  not  find  him.  After  a  somewhat  thorough 

o 

search  in  all  pnrts  of  the  crowd,  he,  concluding  that 

Mr..  S had  grown  tired  of  waiting  and  had  left, 

started  for  home,  expecting  to  find  him  there,  but  to 
his  mortification,  on  arriving  he  learned  that  nothing 
had  been  seen  of  his  guest ;  nor  did  he  come  that 
night. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  S ,  having  awakened  from  his 

slumber  and  vainly  sought  his  companion  among  the 
crowd,  passing  hither  and  thither,  and  waiting  till 
nearly  all  the  people  were  dispersed,  but  finding  no 
one  that  he  knew  in  the  hall,  took  his  leave. 

His  position  was  rather  embarrassing,  for  he  was  a 
stranger  in  a  strange  city.  He  returned  to  the  Repos- 
itory, and  would  have  taken  shelter  there,  but  all 
was  dark  and  the  doors  were  closed.  After  some 
wandering  among  the  crooked  streets  of  Boston,  he 
found  a  hotel,  and  secured  a  resting  place  for  the 
night. 

In  the  morning,  needing  refreshments,  he  entered 
a  dining  saloon  near  the  Repository,  and  ordered 
breakfast.  He  was  served  by  a  young  man  of  intel- 
ligent appearance,  whose  jet  black  hair  and  dark 
complexion  indicated  that  his  Caucasian  blood  had 
felt  the  burning  sunshine  of  a  tropical  climate;  and 
he  was  led  by  an  impulse  such  as  Christians  under- 
stand, to  inquire  into  his  history,  and  speak  to  him 
concerning  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  the  blessed  hope. 
He  found  an  attentive  listener,  one  "whose  heart  the 
Lord  had  opened,"  and  who  desired  to  know  the  grace 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  323 

of  God  in  truth.  Keturning  to  the  Repository  he  nar- 
rated the  haps  and  mishaps  of  his  night's  experience, 
which  were  sufficiently  embarrassing  to  the  parties 
concerned,  but  which  were  quickly  passed  over  to  their 
place  among  the  "all  things"  that  "work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God  ;"  and  he  spoke  particularly 
of  this  young  man,  whom  he  had  met,  and  made  ar- 
rangements by  which  he  could  receive  THE  CHRISTIAN 
and  other  religious  publications,  and  be  more  perfectly 
taught  in  the  way  of  life.  Dining  in  the  same  place, 
he  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  again  to  the  young 
stranger,  concerning  the  things  of  God ;  and  so  he 
departed  to  his  distant  home,  not  forgetting  to  pray 
for,  and  subsequently  to  inquire  after,  one  whose 
welfare  the  Lord  had  thus  laid  upon  his  heart. 

The  good  seed  took  root,  and  the  young  man  was 
led  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  con- 
fess him  before  men,  and  lift  the  voice  of  prayer  and 
praise  to  God,  and  humbly  testify  of  the  grace  that 
he  had  found. 

Once  he  was  in  darkness.  Born  amid  the  palm 
groves  of  Hindostan,  but  a  short  distance  from  the 
far-famed  temple  of  Juggernaut,  his  early  life  was  one 
of  ignorance  and  heathenish  superstition.  Brought 
to  this  country  by  a  gentleman  some  years  since,  and 
living  in  various  cities,  he  was  yet  without  God, 
though  in  a  land  of  Bibles  and  Sunday-schools.  But 
at  length,  in  this,  his  own  mysterious  way,  the  Good 
Shepherd  found  the  wandering  sheep,  and  led  him  to 
his  fold ;  and  it  was  cheering  to  hear  him  tell  the 
story  of  his  former  lost  estate,  and  how  Jesus  died 


324  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

for  him  though  he  knew  nothing  of  it ;  and  how  at 
last  he  had  brought  him  home  to  rest  and  peace. 

When  the  woman  at  Jacob's  well  found  Christ  and 
heard  him  speak  the  words  of  truth  and  life,  she  "left 
her  water-pot  and  went  her  way  into  the  city,"  for- 
getful of  her  former  pursuits,  and  only  seeking  that 
others  might  share  the  blessing  she  had  gained.  And 
this  is  but  the  expression  of  the  feeling  of  all  who 
hear  the  Saviour's  voice.  So  this  young  man  thought 
and  spoke  of  his  father  and  mother  in  a  far  off  heathen 
land,  bowing  down  to  dumb  idols,  ignorant  of  Christ, 
and  without  hope  in  the  world ;  and  longed  to  go  and 
tell  to  them  the  tidings  that  the  woman  of  Samaria 
told  to  those  whom  she  had  known.  The  providence 
of  God  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  attend  school ; 
and  his  future  is  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  loved  him 
and  pitied  him  in  the  darkness  of  far-off  Hindostan  ; 
who  led  him  all  his  way  in  mercy,  and  brought  him 
to  a  knowledge  of  his  grace. 


THE  FIKST  AWAKENED. 

In  a  church  with  which  the  writer  was  acquainted, 
destitute  at  the  time  of  a  pastor,  but  not  without 
some  members  who  walked  with  God,  the  following 
fact  occurred : — A  young  lady  in  making  a  visit  to 
one  of  her  acquaintance,  took  an  unfrequented  path 
through  a  deeply  shaded  grove,  and  as  the  day  was 
very  warm,  after  pursuing  her  walk  some  distance  up 
a  somewhat  steep  acclivity,  she  stopped  to  rest  bp-r- 
self  on  a  beautiful  mossy  bank.  While  seated  mere, 


THE  GUIDING   HAND.  325 

the  tones  of  a  human  voice  very  unexpectedly  broke 
upon  her  ear.  On  turning  her  eye  the  way  from 
whence  they  came,  she  saw  Deacon  M on  horse- 
back, making  his  way  up  the  same  hill. 

The  thought  occurred  to  her  that  she  would  retire 
from  the  sight  of  the  road,  let  him  pass,  and  remain 
undiscovered.  This  she  did.  As  the  Deacon  ap- 
proached leisurely  on  his  horse,  she  was  wondering 
what  could  be  his  object  in  being  so  busily  engaged 
in  talking  to  himself,  as  she  could  distinctly  discover 
that  no  fellow- mortal  accompanied  him.  As  he  drew 
nearer,  and  she  could  hear  his  voice  more  plainly,  she 
ascertained  that  he  was  engaged  in  prayer.  The  only 
sentence  that  left  a  distinct  impression  on  her  mind 
was,  "O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  the  dear  youth  in  this 
place." 

He  passed  on  praying,  till  the  sounds  which  came 
from  his  lips  died  away  on  her  ear.  But  an  impres- 
sion was  made  upon  her  heart,  as  it  may  be  hoped, 
which  will  never  die  away,  but  prepare  her  to  mingle 
in  the  symphonies  of  the  redeemed  in  ascribing  salva- 
tion to  God  and  the  Lamb.  A  new  discovery  respect- 
ing Christians  was  at  this  instant  made  to  her.  "Is 
this  the  manner,"  she  reflected  with  herself,  "in  which 
they  live ,  and  pass  on  their  way  about  the  town  ?  Do 
they  thus  pray  for  the  youth?  How  unlike  to  a 
Christian  have  I  lived  !  I  have  never  prayed  in  this 
manner  ;  I  have  seldom  thought  of  the  souls  of  others, 
and  cared  but  very  little  for  my  own.  While  others 
pray  for  me,  I  live  without  praying  for  myself." 

Her  sins,  particularly  her  neglect  of  prayer  to  Him 


326  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

who  is  everywhere,  now  became  a  distressing  burden 
to  her.  Soon,  we  have  reason  to  hope,  there  was  joy 
among  the  angels  of  God  over  her  as  a  penitent,  and 
over  many  others  in  the  town.  She  was  the  first 
awakened  in  a  revival. 


THE  SKEPTIC  AND  THE  BIED'S  NEST. 

A  short  time  since,  a  gentleman,  conversing  of  his 
visit  to  South  America,  spoke  of  an  interview  with  a 
young  man,  whom  he  had  formerly  known  in  New 
York,  and  who,  like  many  others,  having  more 
money  than  good  counsel  left  him  by  his  parents, 
soon  became  self-sufficient,  and  went  on  from  one 
vice  to  another  till  he  became  an  open  infidel.  He 
had  remained  thus  when  he  left  New  York  for  South 
America,  but  when  this  gentleman  met  him,  the 
avowed  infidel  had  become  a  humble  believer  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  tongue  that  was  wont  to  blas- 
pheme was  lifting  the  voice  of  supplication  for  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  his  guilty  soul.  Greatly  sur- 
prised at  seeing  the  young  man  « '  clothed  and  in  his 
right  mind,"  the  gentleman  inquired  what  had  wrought 
the  change. 

Said  he,  "You  know  I  spent  much  of  my  time  in 
fishing  and  hunting,  and  a  few  weeks  since,  on  a 
beautiful  Sabbath  morning,  I  went  in  search  of  game. 
Being  weary  of  roaming  about  the  woods,  I  sat  down 
on  a  log  to  rest.  While  thus  seated,  my  attention 
was  attracted  to  a  neighboring  tree ,  by  the  cries  of  a 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  327 

bird  which  was  fluttering  over  her  nest,  uttering 
shrieks  of  anguish  as  if  a  viper  were  destroying  her 
young. 

"On  looking  about,  I  soon  found  the  subject  of 
her  dread,  in  that  apt  emblem  of  all  evil,  a  venomous 
snake,  dragging  his  slow  length  along  towards  the 
tree,  his  eye  intent  on  the  bird  and  her  nest.  Pres- 
ently I  saw  the  male  bird  coming  from  a  distance 
with  a  little  twig  covered  with  leaves,  in  his  mouth. 
Instantly  the  father  bird  laid  the  twig  over  his  mate 
and  her  young,  and  then  perched  himself  on  one  of 
the  topmost  branches  of  the  tree,  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  the  enemy. 

"By  this  time  the  snake  had  reached  the  spot. 
Coiling  himself  around  the  trunk,  he  ascended  the 
tree  at  length  ;  gliding  along  the  branch  till  he  came 
near  the  nest,  he  lifted  his  head  as  if  to  take  his  vic- 
tims by  surprise.  He  looked  at  the  nest,  then  sud- 
denly drew  back  his  head  as  if  he  had  been  shot,  and 
hurriedly  made  his  way  down  the  tree. 

"I  had  the  curiosity  to  see  what  had  turned  him 
from  his  malicious  purpose ;  and  on  ascending  the 
tree,  I  found  the  twig  to  have  been  broken  from  a 
poisonous  bush  which  that  snake  was  never  known 
to  approach. 

"Instantly  the  thought  rushed  across  my  mind, 
'Who  taught  that  bird  its  only  weapon  of  defense  in 
this  hour  of  peril?'  and  quick  as  thought  came  the 
answer,  'None  but  God  Almighty,  whose  very  exist- 
ence I  have  denied,  but  in  whose  pardoning  mercy, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  I  am  now  permitted  to  hope.' >: 


328  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

God  sends  men  to  the  ant  to  learn  industry,  to  the 
ravens  and  the  lilies  for  lessons  of  trust ;  and  here  in 
the  protection  of  a  defenseless  bird's  nest  from  a 
cruel  foe,  shines  out  the  same  kind  providence  which 
watches  the  falling  sparrow  and  numbers  the  hairs  of 
our  heads.  No  wonder  that  the  infidel  was  convinced 
of  his  error ;  for  surely,  none  but  the  fool  can  say  in 
his  heart,  ''There  is  no  God." 


BKANDS  PLUCKED  FEOM  THE  FIEE. 

In  the  Spring  of  1847  I  was  traveling  with  a  brother 
clergyman,  on  our  way  to  an  ecclesiastical  meeting 

in  P ,  Va.  Having  to  pass  through  the  county 

of  A ,  we  proposed  going  by  the  village  at  the 

court-house,  and  to  call  on  friends  there,  but  being 
engaged  in  conversation,  we  passed  a  cross  road  lead- 
ing to  the  court-house,  and  did  not  discover  our  mis- 
take until  we  had  gone  several  miles,  when  it  was 
too  late  to  return.  While  we  reproached  ourselves 
for  our  inattention,  the  Lord  was  guiding  us  in  a  way 
we  knew  not,  and  for  a  purpose  we  could  not  per- 
ceive. 

We  had  not  proceeded  far  when  we  perceived  a 
house  on  fire  about  half  a  mile  distant.  The  younger 
of  the  two  put  his  horse  into  a  gallop,  and  soon  came 
up  to  the  fire.  It  was  a  log  house,  and  the  roof  was 
in  a  blaze  in  three  places.  On  entering  the  house  he 
was  met  at  the  threshold  by  the  piteous  cry  of  an  old 
man,  who  was  lying  on  a  trundle-bed  in  one  corner, 
entirely  crippled  with  rheumatism,  and  as  helpless 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  329 

as  an  infant.  "O,  sir,"  cried  he,  "for  mercy's  sake 
take  me  out,  or  I  shall  be  burned  up  alive  !"  He 
became  a  little  more  calm  when  assured  that  he  was 
not  in  immediate  danger,  and  that  he  would  be  taken 
care  of  in  time.  In  the  loft  above  was  found  his  aged 
and  terror-stricken  wife,  who  had  been  trying  in  vain 
to  extinguish  the  fire  with  a  little  tin  bucket  half  full 
of  watei-,  and  a  small  gourd.  As  soon  as  the  young 
minister  found  an  axe,  he  went  heartily  to  work ;  and 
after  knocking  off  a  large  portion  of  the  roof,  suc- 
ceeded in  extinguishing  the  fire,  and  had  the  pleasure 
of  assuring  the  old  couple  that  the  danger  was  over 
and  all  was  safe.  They  expressed  their  gratitude 
with  flowing  tears  and  many  thanks.  The  minister 
told  them  to  give  thanks  to  God,  wnose  providence 
alone  had  saved  them, — that  they  intended  to  have 
taken  another  road,  but  had  been  led  this  way. 

"Wonderful  mercy  !"  said  the  old  man  ;  and  trem- 
bling and  turning  pale  at  the  thought,  he  added,  "Oh, 
had  you  gone  by  the  court-house,  we  had  by  this 
time  been  burned  to  ashes.  What  a  mercy,  what  a 
mercy !"  he  continued  to  repeat,  and  said,  "Oh,  how 
wicked  I  have  been  !  I  have  never  believed"  in  a 
providence.  I  laughed  at  it,  and  hated  the  thought 
that  God  took  any  notice  of  us  ;  but  now  I  feel  there 
is  a  providence.  Yes,  there  is  a  providence  that  sent 
you  here  to  save  us  from  the  fire." 

He  then  inquired  who  we  were,  and  where  from; 
and  when  told  that  we  were  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
and  that  one  of  us  lived  twenty-five  miles  and  the 
other  one  huadred  miles  distant,  he  was  deeply 


330  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

affected,  and  said,  "How  strange  it  is !  I  have 
always  hated  ministers,  and  would  not  permit  them 
to  cross  my  door-sill,  and  now  God  has  sent  two  of 
them  to  save  such  an  old,  vile,  crippled  creature  as  I 
am  from  death !" 

He  began  then  to  confess  the  sins  of  his  past  life, 
and  particularly  expressed  regret  that  he  had  so  long 
opposed  his  wife,  who,  he  said,  always  wanted  to  be 
a  Christian.  He  had  been  a  soldier  in  Wayne's 
army,  and  there,  he  said,  he  had  learned  to  drink 
liquor,  to  scoff  at  religion,  and  to  make  Tom  Paine's 
book  his  bible  ;  "and  now,"  said  he,  "I  begin  to  feel 
the  guilt  of  it  all.  It  comes  upon  me  like  a  moun- 
tain's load." 

They  were  told  that  their  sins  had  kindled  the 
more  dreadful  fire  of  perdition,  from  which  no  earthly 
arm  could  save ;  and  they  were  both  urged  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come ,  and  lay  hold  on  the  hand 
that  was  nailed  to  the  cross.  A  tract  entitled,  "The 
Conversion  of  John  Price,"  was  read  to  them.  It 
contains  a  brief  notice  of  the  downward  course  of  an 
habitual  drinker  and  gamester,  and  of  his  wonderful 
reformation  and  conversion  to  God.  One  of  the 
most  touching  passages  in  the  tract  is  that  in  which 
he  asks  his  little  daughter  to  read  the  Bible  to  him. 
She  read  the  fifty-first  psalm  and  the  one  hundred 
and  third.  The  father  was  much  affected,  and  wept 
and  said,  "Surely,  God  made  her  choose  those  two 
psalms." 

The  old  couple,  both  in  tears,  listened  to  the  read- 
ing, and  when  it  was  completed,  he  said,  "Surely, 


THE  GUIDING  HAND.  331 

God  made  you  choose  that  for  us, — every  word  of  it 
comes  home  to  my  heart ;  and  now  will  you  be  kind 
enough  to  read  to  us  the  same  chapters  of  the  Bible 
that  the  little  girl  read  to  her  father?"  The  request 
was  granted,  and  the  fifty-first  psalm  was  read. 
"Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  God,"  etc.  It  was  distinctly 
read.  There  he  lay  upon  his  bed,  a  man  of  large 
frame,  with  a  finely  developed  head,  a  high  and  full 
forehead,  a  large  blue  eye,  and  expanded  chest,  but 
with  his  arms  and  legs  so  contracted  by  rheumatism 
that  for  sixteen  years  he  had  been  unable  to  move 
himself  without  aid.  As  the  reading  proceeded,  his 
broad  chest  began  to  heave  with  emotion,  and  the 
tears  ran  down  his  cheeks.  On  hearing  the  fourth 
verse,  " Against  thee,  thee  only  have  I  sinned,"  he 
cried  out,  "Yes,  that  is  the  worst  of  it;  it  is  all 
against  God, — all  against  God.  Have  mercy  on 
me,  O  God."  He  became  more  composed,  and 
when  the  reading  was  finished,  he  said,  "That  is 
God's  word,  and  seems  made  on  purpose  for  me." 

His  aged  wife,  who  was  filled  with  wonder  and 
delight  at  what  she  had  both  seen  and  heard,  asked 
that  the  other  psalm  might  be  read.  The  hundred 
and  third  psalm  was  accordingly  read,  "Bless  the 
Lord,  O  my  soul,"  etc.  The  old  lady  was  greatly 
agitated ;  she  walked  up  and  down  the  room,  ex- 
claiming, "Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul!  bless  the 
Lord,  he  has  saved  us  this  day  from  fire,  and  he  will 
save  us  from  our  sins  ;  he  forgiveth  all  our  iniquities. 
Bless  the  Lord,  that  I  have  lived  to  see  this  day. 
My  old  man  will  now  let  me  read  and  sing  and  pray  ; 


33$  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

he  wil\  let  ministers  come  to  our  house,  and  we  will 
both  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  together." 

After  much  such  talk,  we  kneeled  and  prayed, — 
the  first  prayer,  as  the  old  man  said,  that  was  ever 
made  in  that  house.  We  bade  them  farewell,  not 
expecting  to  meet  them  again  until  the  judgment 
day.  The  old  couple  lived  about  three  years  after 
this  event,  and  we  are  credibly  informed  that  they 
lived  in  a  manner  to  illustrate  and  magnify  the  won- 
drous grace  of  God  to  the  chief  of  sinners,  and  then 
died,  both  in  the  same  year,  fully  fourscore  years  of 
age,  in  the  faith  and  lively  hope  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ. 

A  COLLEGE  AND  ITS  PKESIDENT. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  December,  1831,  died 
Stephen  Girard,  of  Philadelphia,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
one  years.  Born  near  Bordeaux,  in  France,  May 
21st,  1750,  the  son  of  a  seaman,  and  bred  to  his 
father's  calling,  he  rose  in  time,  to  be  master  of  a 
vessel,  and  accumulated  sufficient  property  to  estab- 
lish himself  as  a  small  trader  in  Philadelphia  in  1769. 
After  his  settlement  there,  various  shrewd  ventures 
and  favorable  circumstances  contributed  to  increase 
his  possessions.  Some  fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  property,  placed  for  safe-keeping  on  board  of  two 
of  his  vessels  in  one  of  the  ports  of  Saint  Domingo, 
fell  into  his  hands  in  consequence  of  the  slaughter  of 
the  owners  and  their  families  during  the  insurrection 
there.  His  diligent  hand  made  him  rich  ;  he  exacted 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  333 

his  dues  to  the  uttermost  farthing ;  and  by  labor,  fore- 
sight, and  economy,  he  amassed  a  fortune  of  some 
nine  millions  of  dollars,  most  of  which,  by  his  will, 
was  devoted  to  purposes  of  benevolence  and  public  util- 
ity. So  unsocial,  frugal,  grasping,  and  parsimonious 
was  he  that  it  is  said,  "he  never  had  a  friend  ;"  yet  he 
was  generous  in  his  benefactions,  and  especially 
mindful  of  the  necessities  of  those  who  were  sick ; 
and  during  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow  fever  in  Phil- 
adelphia, in  1793,  1797,  and  1798,  he  gave  not  only 
his  money,  but  his  personal  labors,  for  the  relief  of 
the  suffering ;  performing  the  most  menial  services, 
acting  as  both  physician  and  nurse,  and  for  some  two 
months  taking  charge  of  one  of  the  yellow  fever  hos- 
pitals . 

Shrewd,  but  uneducated ;  inheriting  French  ideas 
and  traditions;  in  religion  a  "free  thinker,"  and  a 
disciple  of  Voltaire  and  Rousseau ;  his  early  training 
and  experience  left  him  with  little  faith  in  priests  or 
ecclesiastics,  and  when,  at  his  death,  he  bequeathed 
more  than  two  millions  of  dollars,  together  with  a  plot 
of  ground  in  Philadelphia,  for  the  erection  and  sup- 
port of  a  college  for  orphans ,  he  expressly  declared 
in  his  will,  that,  while  the  officers  of  the  institution 
were  to  instruct  the  pupils  in  the  purest  principles  of 
morality,  no  ecclesiastic,  missionary,  or  minister  of 
any  sect  whatever,  was  to  hold  any  connection  with 
the  college,  or  be  admitted  to  the  premises  even  as  a 
visitor,'  so  that  students  might  be  left  free  from  sec- 
tarian influences,  and  allowed  to  form  their  own 
religious  opinions  upon  their  entrance  into  active  life. 


334  THE  GUIDING   HAND. 

Work  on  the  college  was  commenced  in  July, 
1833,  and  more  than  $1,930,000  was  expended  in 
building  and  preparing.  The  college  was  opened  for 
use  January  1st,  1848.  The  main  edifice  is  a  splen- 
did marble  structure,  169  feet  long,  111  feet  wide, 
and  97  feet  high  ;  which,  with  other  appropriate  build- 
ings, stands  in  the  midst  of  forty-one  acres  of  play- 
grounds and  gardens.  Since  its  opening,  this  place 
has  been  the  home  of  hundreds  of  orphan  boys,  who 
have  there  been  educated,  trained,  and  fitted  for 
active  life ;  though  no  minister  of  the  gospel  has 
been  allowed  to  visit  or  address  them. 

The  importance  of  religious  teaching  in  early  years 
can  hardly  be  overestimated ;  but  it  is  a  matter  of 
gratitude  that  men  need  not  be  dependent  on  minis- 
ters or  ecclesiastics  for  the  knowledge  of  God,  or  for 
instruction  in  righteousness  ;  and  hence ,  while  cler- 
gymen of  all  sects  are  excluded  from  Girard  college, 
men  of  devout  and  earnest  faith  have  not  been  want- 
ing to  teach  the  pupils  there  the  way  of  life  and 
peace. 

Dr.  Geo.  E.  Adams  tells,  in  the  Boston  Recorder, 
how  one  president  was  prepared  for  Girard  college  : 
"On  the  25th  of  September,  1829,  a  new  class 
entered  Bowdoin  college,  —  among  them,  William 
Henry  Allen.  The  first  recitation  of  the  class,  in 
Latin,  was  to  Prof.  T.  C.  Upham.  At  a  very  early 
date,  the  professor,  who  never  seemed  to  see  any- 
body, but  always  saw  everybody,  marked  Allen,  in 
his  own  mind,  as  one  who  wras  bound  to  be  a  power 
in  the  world ;  and  resolved  to  do  whatever  he  could 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  335 

to  make  him  a  power  for  Christ ;  and  following  his 
rule  to  say  some  word  in  regard  to  personal  religion 
to  some  one,  every  day,  soon  and  repeatedly 
approached  this  young  man,  and  endeavored  to  per- 
suade him  to  consecrate  his  life  to  the  Saviour. 
Allen,  however,  was  rather  worldly  and  ambitious, 
indisposed  to  make  of  religion  a  very  pressing  sub- 
ject of  attention  just  then,  and  though  the  professor, 
strong  in  faith  and  prayer,  and  in  the  power  of  God's 
truth,  was  not  wont  to  be  defeated  in  any  Christian 
enterprise  to  which  his  heart  was  given,  it  was  not 
till  the  young  man  had  been  away  from  the  college 
for  some  time,  that  he  confessed  to  Prof.  Upham 
that  the  seed  he  had  sown  had  sprung  up,  and  begun 
to  bear  fruit. 

"  'Now,  then,'  said  the  professor  to  himself, 
*  Allen  must  be  induced  to  enter  the  ministry.*  On 
this  point,  the  professor  failed.  'And  I  never 
could  understand  it,'  said  Prof.  Upham  to  me,  one 
day,  'till  I  learned  that  he  had  been  made  president 
of  a  college,  within  whose  walls  he  never  could  have 
entered,  had  he  become  a  minister,  and,  within  those 
walls,  was  delivering  two  excellent  Christian  dis- 
courses every  Sunday.'  " 

The  care,  education,  and  support  of  a  college  con- 
taining five  or  six  hundred  orphans,  between  the  ages 
of  six  and  eighteen — including  provision  for  food, 
raiment,  and  an  apprenticeship  to  honest  occupa- 
tions—  is  a  matter  which  might  well  deserve  the 
attention  of  Him  who  is  "a  Father  of  the  fatherless  ;" 
and  so,  while  he  was  leading  the  mind  of  a  worldly 


336  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

skeptic  to  devote  his  hoarded  millions  to  so  good  an 
end,  he  knew  how  to  train  the  man  he  needed  to 
administer  such  a  weighty  trust,  keeping  him  free 
from  ecclesiastical  titles  or  sectarian  bonds,  that  he 
might  serve  his  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  on  a 
broader  basis  than  a  denominational  platform,  and 
in  a  ministry  beyond  the  reach  of  professional 
ecclesiastics.  And  the  fact  that  William  H. 
Allen,  LL.D.,  President  of  Girard  college,  was 
elected  and  for  years  served  as  President  of  the  Amer- 
ican Bible  Society,  leads  us  to  infer  that,  after  all, 
Girard  college,  with  its  magnificent  marble  build- 
ings, and  its  grand  endowment,  is  not  an  entirely 
godless  concern,  but  that  He  who  watches  over  all 
the  interests  of  his  creatures,  has  wrought  out  its 
destinies  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will. 

HOWE  AND  THE  MAGISTRATE. 

The  eminent  John  Howe,  who  died  in  England  in 
1705,  had  many  remarkable  experiences,  of  which  he 
kept  some  records.  But  in  his  last  illness  he  called 
his  son,  and  sending  him  to  his  private  desk  for  a 
number  of  small  manuscript  volumes,  he,  for  reasons 
which  he  did  not  explain,  made  him  solemnly  promise 
that  he  would  immediately  destroy  them  all.  But 
though  he  left  no  memorials  of  his  history,  yet  the 
savor  of  his  piety  and  zeal  remains,  and  a  biographer 
writes  of  him  :  "We  know  of  no  individual  of  that 
age  who  stands  before  us  with  a  character  so  fair  and 
perfect  as  John  Howe ;  who  maintained  so  signally, 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  337 

throughout  many  a  checkered  scene,  a  walk  and  con- 
versation becoming  the  gospel." 

The  following  incident  in  his  life,  illustrates  the 
guidance  of  the  Lord  ;  both  in  the  deliverance  of  his 
faithful  servant  from  danger,  and  in  making  him  an 
instrument  of  the  salvation  of  a  cruel  persecutor  : 

When  the  melancholy  state  of  the  times  compelled 
this  excellent  man  to  quit  the  public  charge  of  his 
beloved  congregation  at  Torrington,  in  Devonshire, 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  duty,  he  embraced  every 
opportunity  of  preaching  the  word  of  life.  He  and 
Mr.  Flavel  used  frequently  to  conduct  their  secret 
ministration  at  midnight,  in  different  houses  in  the 
north  of  Devonshire.  One  of  the  principal  of  these 
was  Hudscott,  an  ancient  mansion  belonging  to  the 
family  of  Eolle,  between  Torrington  and  Southmol- 
ton.  Yet,  even  there,  the  observant  eye  of  malevo- 
lence was  upon  them.  Mr.  Howe  had  been  officiating 
there,  one  dark  and  stormy  wintry  night,  when  an 
alarm  was  made  that  information  had  been  given,  and 
a  warrant  granted  to  apprehend  him.  It  was  judged 
prudent  for  him  to  quit  the  house  ;  but  in  riding  over 
a  large  common,  he  and  his  servant  missed  their  way. 
After  several  fruitless  efforts  to  recover  it,  the  attend- 
ant went  forward  to  seek  for  a  habitation,  where 
they  might  find  directions  or  a  lodging.  He  soon 
discovered  a  mansion,  and  received  a  cheerful  invita- 
tion to  rest  there  for  the  night.  But  how  great  was 
Mr.  Howe's  surprise  to  find,  on  his  arrival,  that  the 
house  belonged  to  his  most  inveterate  enemy,  a  country 
magistrate  who  had  often  breathed  the  most  implacable 


338  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

vengeance  against  him,  and,  as  he  had  reason  to 
believe,  was  well  acquainted  with  the  occasion  of  his 
traveling  at  such  an  hour.  However,  he  put  the  best 
face  he  could  upon  it,  and  even  mentioned  his  name 
and  residence  to  the  gentleman,  trusting  to  Providence 
for  the  result.  His  host  ordered  supper  to  be  pro- 
vided, and  entered  into  a  lengthened  conversation 
with  his  gues*t ;  and  was  so  delighted  with  his  com- 
pany, that  it  was  a  very  late  hour  before  he  could 
permit  him  to  retire.  In  the  morning,  Mr.  Howe 
expected  to  be  accosted  with  a  commitment,  and  sent 
to  Exeter  jail;  but,  on  the  contrary,  he  was  received 
by  the  family  at  breakfast  with  a  very  hospitable 
welcome.  After  mutual  civilities,  he  departed  to  his 
own  abode,  greatly  wondering  to  himself  at  the  kind- 
ness of  a  man  from  whom  he  had  before  dreaded  so 
much.  Not  long  after,  the  gentleman  sent  for  Mr. 
Howe,  who  found  him  confined  to  bed  by  sickness,  and 
still  more  deeply  wounded  with  a  sense  of  sin.  He 
acknowledged  that,  when  Mr.  Howe  came  first  to  his 
door,  he  inwardly  rejoiced  that  he  had  an  opportunity 
of  exercising  his  malice  upon  him,  but  that  his  con- 
versation and  his  manner  insensibly  awed  him  into 
respect.  He  had  seriously  meditated  on  the  observa- 
tions which  had  fallen  from  the  lips  of  the  man  of 
God,  and  had  become  penitent,  earnestly  anxious  for 
the  blessings  of  eternal  life.  From  that  sickness  he 
recovered,  became  an  eminent  Christian,  a  friend  to 
the  conscientious,  and  an  intimate  companion  of  the 
man  whom  he  had  threatened  with  his  vengeance  in 
his  sinful  days. 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  339 

A  STKANGE  OPENING. 

Among  the  many  remarkable  ways  in  which  God 
opens  the  door  for  his  truth  to  reach  the  hearts  of 
men,  the  following  instance  was  narrated  by  an 
English  town  missionary,  not  long  ago  : 

There  was  a  lodging  house  in  his  district,  which 
he  had  long  desired  to  enter,  but  was  deterred  from 
so  doing  by  his  friends,  who  feared  that  his  life  would 
be  thereby  endangered.  He  became  at  length  so 
uneasy  from  his  convictions  of  duty,  that  he  deter- 
mined to  risk  all  consequences  and  try  to  gain  admis- 
sion. So  one  day  he  gave  a  somewhat  timid  knock 
at  the  door,  in  response  to  which  a  coarse  voice  roared 
out, <  <  Who's  there  ?"  and  at  the  same  moment  a  vicious 
looking  woman  opened  the  door  and  ordered  the 
man  of  God  away.  "Let  him  come  in,  and  see  who 
he  is  and  what  he  wants,"  growled  out  the  same  voice. 
The  missionary  walked  in,  and  bowing  politely  to  the 
rough-looking  man  whom  he  had  just  heard  speak, 
said : 

"I  have  been  visiting  most  of  the  houses  in  this 
neighborhood  to  read  with  and  talk  to  the  people 
about  good  things.  I  have  passed  your  door  as  long 
as  I  feel  I  ought,  for  I  wish  also  to  talk  with  you  and 
your  lodgers." 

"Are  you  what  is  called  a  town  missionary?" 

"I  am,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 

*  *  Well ,  then ,"  said  the  fierce-looking  man , "  sit  down 
and  hear  what  I  am  going  to  say.  I  will  ask  you  a 
question  out  of  the  Bible.  If  you  answer  me  right 


340  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

you  may  call  at  this  house,  and  read  and  pray  with 
us  and  our  lodgers  as  much  as  you  like ;  if  you  do  • 
not  answer  me  right,  we  will  tear  the  clothes  off  your 
back,  and  tumble  you  neck  and  heels  into  the  street. 
Now  what  do  you  say — for  I  am  a  man  of  my  word  ?" 

The  missionary  was  perplexed,  but  at  length  qui- 
etly said,  "I  will  take  you." 

"Well,  then,"  said  the  man,  "here  goes.  Is  the 
word  girl  in  any  part  of  the  Bible  ?  If  so,  where  is  it 
to  be  found,  and  how  often?  That  is  my  question." 

"Well,  sir,  the  word  girl  is  in  the  Bible,  but  only 
once,  and  may  be  found  in  the  words  of  the  prophet 
Joel,  iii.  3.  The  words  are,  'And  sold  a  girl  for 
wine  that  they  might  drink. ": 

"Well,"  replied  the  man,  "I  am  dead  beat ;  I  durst 
have  bet  live  pounds  you  could  not  have  told." 

"And  I  could  not  have  told  yesterday,"  said  the 
visitor.  "For  several  days  I  have  been  praying  that 
the  Lord  would  open  me  a  way  into  this  house,  and 
this  very  morning,  when  reading  the  Scriptures  in 
my  family,  I  was  surprised  to  find  the  word  girl,  and 
got  the  Concordance  to  see  if  it  occurred  again,  and 
found  it  did  not.  And  now,  sir,  I  believe  that  God 
did  know,  and  does  know  what  will  come  to  pass, 
and  surely  his  hand  is  in  this  for  my  protection  and 
your  good." 

The  whole  of  the  inmates  were  greatly  surprised 
at  this  manifest  token  of  providential  direction,  and 
were  thus  led  to  serious  reflection,  and  this  remark- 
able incident  has  been  overruled  to  the  hopefui  con- 
version of  the  man,  his  wife,  and  two  of  the  lodgers. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  341 

COLLINS  AND  THE  FUNERAL. 

Among  the  mighty  men  of  God  who  labored  to 
spread  the  gospel  of  Christ  in  the  newly-settled  por- 
tions of  America,  was  John  Collins,  who  was  born  in 
New  Jersey,  in  1769,  and  died  in  Maysville,  Ken- 
tucky, August  21st,  1842.  Earnest,  logical,  devout, 
and  eloquent,  many  souls  were  given  him  as  seals  of 
his  ministry,  among  whom  was  John  McLean,  after- 
wards Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
court,  to  whose  pen  we  are  indebted  for  a  sketch  of 
Collins'  life,  and  various  incidents  connected  with  his 
ministry. 

Unlike  many  at  the  present  day,  Collins  could  not 
harmonize  in  his  own  mind  the  practice  of  war  with 
the  gospel  of  peace,  and  hence,  when  he  would  follow 
Christ,  he  forsook  the  world.  When  he  was  con- 
verted, he  held  the  office  of  major  of  the  militia ; 
this  he  laid  down  when  he  received  a  commission  in 
ImmanueFs  army.  The  one  who  succeeded  him  came 
to  purchase  his  uniform  and  arms,  and  Mr.  Collins 
said  to  him,  in  his  own  peculiar  style,  "  My  friend, 
when  you  put  these  on  think  of  the  reason  why  I  put 
them  off."  The  remark  made  an  indelible  impression 
upon  his  mind,  sunk  deep  into  his  soul,  and  led  to 
important  results.  It  led  him  to  reflect,  and  his 
reflections  led  him  to  act.  He,  also,  renounced  his 
commission,  and  became  a  man  of  prayer  ;  he  yielded 
to  the  most  illustrious  of  conquerors,  enlisted  in  the 
army  of  the  redeemed,  and  fought  under  the  great 
"Captain  of  our  salvation." 


THIS   GUIDING   HAND. 

In  the  experience  of  Collins,  there  were  frequent 
instances  which  illustrate  the  direction  of  the  Guiding 

o 

Hand.  The  following  interesting  instance  is  an 
example : 

When  the  country  was  new  and  but  thinly  settled, 
Mr.  Collins  was  riding  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio 
river,  some  thirty  or  forty  miles  above  Cincinnati, 
in  company  with  a  friend,  when  they  came  to  the 
forks  of  the  road  ;  the  left-hand  road  led  more  directly 
to  their  place  of  destination,  the  right  was  more  cir- 
cuitous;  but  Mr.  Collins,  against  remonstrance,  pre- 
ferred the  latter,  from  an  impression  which  he  did 
not  particularly  define.  It  led  to  the  mouth  of  Red 
Oak,  where  the  town  of  Ripley  is  now  situated. 

As  they  approached  this  point  they  saw  a  funeral 
procession,  which  they  immediately  joined,  and  fol- 
lowed it  to  the  grave.  It  was  the  first  funeral  in 
that  place.  The  corpse  was  the  wife  of  Mr.  Bernard 
Jackson,  an  avowed  infidel.  The  scarcity  of  minis- 
ters in  a  newly-settled  country  often  prevents  the 
holding  of  religious  exercises  in  connection  with  the 
burial  of  the  dead,  and  the  skepticism  of  Mr.  Jackson 
may  have  tended  to  the  same  result.  But  whether 
he  desired  it  or  not,  God  had  purposed  that  to  those 
people  who  had  gathered  to  open  the  first  grave  in 
their  forest  settlement,  the  gospel  of  Him  who 
brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  should  be  pro- 
claimed for  the  salvation  of  those  whose  probation 
was  yet  extended.  The  hour  had  come,  and  the 
messenger  of  God  was  ready  with  his  tidings.  After 
the  grave  was  covered,  Mr.  Collins  stepped  forward 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  343 

and  made  known  to  the  people  that  he  was  a  preacher 
of  the  gospel,  and  would  then  preach  a  sermon  to  all 
that  remained.  No  one  went  away.  Solemnly  and 
seriously  they  stood  around  the  new-made  grave, 
where  one  of  their  number  had  just  been  laid,  and 
listened  while  he  read  for  his  text,  "  I  am  the  resur- 
rection and  the  life  :  he  that  belie veth  in  me,  though 
he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live ; "  and  preached  to 
them  the  word  of  everlasting  life. 

The  word  was  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper 
than  a  two-edged  sword.  The  circumstances  of  the 

o 

occasion,  and  the  manifestation  of  the  hand  of  God 
in  guiding  his  servant  to  that  mourning  group,  added 
to  the  solemnity  of  the  hour ;  and  while  death  and 
judgment,  and  life  and  immortality,  were  set  before 
the  people,  all  hearts  were  moved  by  the  power  of 
the  truth.  There  were  many  tears  and  sobs  in  the 
congregation.  The  infidel  husband  was  overcome ; 
and  from  that  day  and  hour  he  renounced  infidelity, 
shortly  after  became  a  member  of  the  church,  lived 
to  adorn  the  Christian  religion,  and  died  in  peace. 
He  had  one  son,  who  was  afterwards  a  traveling 
preacher  in  the  state  of  Indiana. 

Mr.  Collins  believed  in  a  special  providence.  The 
inclination  to  take  the  right-hand  road,  he  believed 
was  prompted  by  it,  of  which  he  could  entertain 
no  doubt  when  he  saw  the  funeral  procession  and 
preached  to  the  mourning  crowd. 

44 And  is  this,"  says  Judge  McLean,  who  relates 
this  incident,  "too  small  a  matter  for  Deity?  Peter 
was  called  to  preach  to  Cornelius ;  and  his  objections 


344  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

were  overcome  in  an  extraordinary  manner.  Philip, 
being  prompted  by  the  Spirit,  joined  himself  to  the 
chariot  of  the  eunuch,  and  'preached  unto  him  Jesus.' 
And  who  that  believes  the  Bible  does  not  believe 
that  the  same  Spirit  operates  more  or  less  upon  Chris- 
tians at  the  present  day  ?  " 

Would  that  this  inward  guiding  was  more  devoutly 
sought  and  teachably  accepted;  then,  where  we  now 
see  sinners  scoffing  at  a  monay-seeking  ministry,  we 
should  see  them  filled  with  solemn  awe  at  the  provi- 
dence which  guides  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  might  that  clothes  and  seals  his  quick  and  power- 
ful Word. 

A  BLESSED  MISTAKE. 

One  day  as  Felix  Neff,  the  Swiss  Evangelist,  was 
walking  in  a  street  in  Lausanne,  a  city  in  Switzerland, 
he  saw  in  the  distance,  as  he  supposed,  a  person  with 
whom  he  was  acquainted.  He  ran  up  behind  him, 
and  overtaking  him,  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder  and 
said,  "What  is  the  state  of  your  soul,  my  friend?" 
The  person  turned  quickly  about  at  the  abrupt  query, 
and  proved  to  be  an  entire  stranger.  Neff  saw  his 
error,  apologized,  left  him,  and  went  his  way. 

Some  three  or  four  years  afterward,  a  person  came 
to  Neff  and  accosted  him,  saying  that  he  was  indebted 
to  him  for  his  inestimable  kindness.  Neff  did  not 
recognize  him,  and  desired  him  to  explain  his  mean- 
ing. The  stranger  answered,  "Have  you  forgotten 
an  unknown  person,  whose  shoulder  you  touched  in 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  345 

a  street  of  Lausanne,  and  whom  you  asked,  'How 
do  you  find  your  soul  ?'  It  was  I ;  your  question  led 
me  to  serious  reflections,  and  now  I  find  it  is  well 
with  my  soul." 

By  such  strange  and  inexplicable  means  does  God 
bring  about  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes  of 
mercy  and  grace.  Time,  place,  and  circumstances 
are  all  subservient  to  his  will.  And  the  anointed 
sons  of  God  are  often  led  by  a  way  they  know  not, 
and  upon  errands  unperceived,  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  benefit  and  salvation  of  mankind.  "Thou 
shalt  guide  me  with  thy  counsel,"  said  David.  Blessed 
are  they  who  are  guided  by  such  a  gracious  hand. 

A  BABBIT  CHASE. 

More  than  sixty  years  ago,  in  a  retired  New 
England  parish,  three  youths  met  by  agreement  every 
Sunday  morning,  and  walked  together  to  church. 
One,  who  was  apprenticed  to  a  cabinet-maker,  was 
an  earnest  Christian ;  another  was  a  skeptic ;  and 
between  these  two,  during  the  walk,  the  subject  of 
religion  was  warmly  discussed.  Each,  however, 
remained  firm  in  his  own  convictions. 

It  chanced  one  day  that  the  apprentice  was  in  the 
hay-field,  looking  at  the  men  as  they  were  mowing. 
Suddenly  a  rabbit  started  up  among  the  mowers, 
who  threw  down  their  scythes  and  gave  chase.  The 
lad,  too,  joined  in  the  pursuit,  and,  carried  away  by 
the  excitement,  he  unwarily  set  his  bare  heel  on  one 
of  the  sharp  scythes.  Help  was  immediately  called, 


346  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

but  such  was  the  loss  of  blood  from  the  several 
arteries,  that  the  surgeon  gave  no  hope  of  recovery. 

The  young  skeptic  called  on  his  companion.  In 
the  apparently  dying  lad  he  saw  the  power  of  that 
religion  he  had  so  often  attacked.  Where  argument 
had  failed,  the  calm  confidence,  the  lively  hope,  and 
the  dying  joy  of  his  companion,  reached  success. 
He  went  from  that  presence  a  converted  soul. 

The  lad,  however,  recovered,  but  was  a  cripple  for 
life.  Giving  up  the  thought  of  learning  a  trade,  he 
pursued  a  course  of  study,  entered  the  ministry,  and 
became  the  well-known  and  much  loved  missionary 
to  the  Choctaws,  Cyrus  Kingsbury,  D.  D.  The  con- 
verted companion  became  the  no  less  distinguished 
Dr.  Joel  Hawes,  for  so  many  years  a  preacher  in 
Hartford,  Conn.  Two  glorious  lives  dating  from  the 
chance  running  of  a  rabbit ! 

The  truth  of  this  story  is  vouched  for  by  a  son  of 
one  of  the  three  friends,  Rev.  H.  D.  Walker,  of 
Bridge  water,  Mass. 

CONVERSION  OP  COUNT  GASPAEIN. 

Adolph  Monod,  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  faith- 
ful evangelical  ministers  of  the  present  century, 
preached  Christ  crucified  and  his  free  grace,  to  his 
c-hurch  in  Lyons,  France.  One  Lord's  day,  preach- 
ing from  the  text,  "God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  him  should -not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life," 
he  spoke  of  the  person  of  Christ  as  the  true  God-man. 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  347 

He  announced,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  next  Sabbath 
he  should  show  how  men  could  be  saved  through 
faith  in  this  God-man.  But  the  authorities  of  this 
church  were  full  of  Catholic  and  other  errors,  and 
opposed  to  a  doctrine  so  truly  evangelical.  Hence, 
they  informed  Monod  that  if  he  did  not  omit  the  ser- 
mon he  had  announced,  they  would  have  him  arrested 
and  brought  before  the  prefect,  and  dismissed  from 
his  office.  Monod,  notwithstanding,  preached  his 
sermon,  and  the  authorities  made  their  complaint. 
The  prefect  demanded  the  two  sermons  of  the  accused, 
and  Monod  sent  them  to  him.  The  prefect  was  a 
Catholic  count  —  Count  de  Gasparin.  He  came  home 
at  evening  to  his  wife,  and  found  the  sermons.  He 
never  liked  sermons,  especially  evangelical  sermons. 
But  he  was  a  man  who  discharged  faithfully  the  duties 
of  his  office.  It  was  necessary  that  the  sermons 
should  be  read.  He  came  to  his  wife  with  the  manu- 
scripts in  his  hand,  complaining  that  he  would  have 
to  give  up  the  whole  evening  to  this  irksome  and  pro- 
tracted labor.  She  offered,  as  her  husband's  worthy 
helpmeet,  to  read  the  sermons  with  him,  so  that  the 
task  might  seem  to  him  less  tedious.  They  began. 
They  read  the  first.  With  every  page  they  grew 
more  interested.  They  forgot  that  it  was  evening 
and  night.  That  which  was  at  first  an  official  duty, 
became  a  service  of  the  heart.  They  finished  the 
first,  and  eagerly  grasped  the  second.  And  what 
was  the  result  ?  As  a  magistrate  —  as  a  prefect  — 
Gasparin  was  forced  to  deprive  Monod  of  his  place, 
because  all  the  authorities  demanded  it.  But  he  and 


348  THE   GUTDING   HAND. 

his  wife  became  evangelical  Christians;  yes,  living, 
joyful,  and  happy  believers  in  Christ.  They  found 
that  night  the  pearl  of  great  price,  and  it  has  remained 
in  the  family.  Their  son,  Count  Agenor  de  Gaspa- 
rin,  has  long  been  the  head  and  pillar  of  the  evan- 
gelical party  in  France. 


A  STEAY  BIBLE. 

A  missionary  in  India  was  descending  in  a  boat  the 
river  Gunduck,  when  he  saw  near  a  village  a  group 
of  Hindoos  seated  on  the  ground.  One  of  the  num- 
ber was  reading;  the  rest  were  deeply  attentive. 
Curious  to  witness  this  scene,  he  landed  and  ap- 
proached them,  when,  to  his  surprise,  he  found  that  the 
book  around  which  the  circle  was  gathered  was  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  When  he  made  himself  known,  the 
reader  manifested  the  greatest  joy.  He  immediately 
asked  many  explanations,  and  while  the  missionary 
remained  in  the  vicinity,  he  often  sought  for  him  and 
had  many  serious  interviews  with  him .  His  faith  was 
weak,  and  he  had  not  sufficient  strength  to  make  a 
public  profession  of  faith  in  Christ.  But  subse- 
quently he  visited  the  missionary  many  times  at  his 
station,  traveling  for  this  purpose  a  considerable 
distance.  The  result  was  his  entire  and  sincere  con- 
version. Some  time  afterwards  the  Hindoo  was 
baptized,  and  his  example  was  blessed  as  the  means 
of  bringing  into  the  church  his  brother,  and  two  or 
three  of  his  friends. 

But  whence  came  this  copy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  ? 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  349 

Some  time  before,  another  missionary,  passing  down 
the  same  river,  had  landed  and  distributed  a  few  vol- 
umes containing  the  four  Gospels  and  the  Acts.  This 
man,  of  a  naturally  thoughtful  disposition,  and  already 
disgusted  with  the  idolatry  in  which  he  had  been 
brought  up,  found  in  the  sacred  volume  a  foundation 
for  a  better  faith.  And,  as  Andrew  communicated  to 
his  brother  the  knowledge  of  the  Saviour  whom  he  had 
found,  so  did  this  Hindoo  to  his  friends  ;  and  the  vol- 
ume, apparently  cast  upon  the  wind,  was  made  the 
means  to  several  souls  of  a  happy  acquaintance  with 
the  way  of  salvation.  What  an  encouragement  thus 
to  toil  on,  and  sow  with  tears  the  precious  seed  in 
faith  and  hope ! 

THE  MOHAMMEDAN  BOOK-BINDER. 

When  Henry  Martyn,  during  one  period  of  his 
Indian  career,  was  located  at  Cawnpore,  in  northern 
India,  he  resolved  to  extend  his  labors  beyond  the 
soldiers  and  English  residents  to  whom  the  regulations 
of  the  East  India  Company  would  have  confined  his 
efforts,  and  to  be  in  reality  a  missionary  as  well  as  a 
chaplain.  In  his  "compound"  or  garden,  was  a 
chabootra,  a  slightly  elevated  platform  of  masonry, 
such  as  natives  always  have  in  their  gardens,  for  the 
purpose  of  sitting,  in  the  summer  evening,  where 
they  may  catch  every  breath  of  air.  On  this  he  used 
to  gather  together  on  Sunday  afternoons  all  the 
faqueers,  or  Hindu  devotees,  of  the  neighborhood — 
men  deformed,  filthy,  and  sometimes  depraved,  whose 


350  THE  GUIDING   HAND. 

self-inflicted  deformities  and  voluntary  filth  were 
accepted  as  marks  of  superior  holiness.  These  he 
would  address  in  terms  of  most  earnest  exhortation 
on  the  holiness  and  purity  of  the  gospel. 

Overlooking  this  garden,  and  within  hearing  dis- 
tance of  the  chabootra,  stood  a  small  kiosk,  or 
summer-house,  in  which  several  young  Mohammedans 
of  the  city  were  accustomed  to  assemble  to  smoke 
and  interchange  city  gossip.  They  were  always  leer- 
ing and  scoffing  at  the  young  Ferringhee  Parde,  or 
English  clergyman,  and  his  most  unattractive  and 
unpromising  group  of  listeners. 

Among  these  young  Mohammedans  was  one  who 
distinguised  himself  by  the  coarseness  and  scurrility 
of  his  remarks.  Being  somewhat  in  advance  of  his 
companions  in  intelligence,  he  aspired  to  take  the  lead 
in  abusing  and  insulting  the  unoffending  chaplain. 
However,  one  Sunday  afternoon,  some  remark  of 
Martyn's  appeared  to  produce  an  unusual  effect  on 
the  young  scoffer.  His  whole  manner  underwent  a 
change.  He  seemed  to  be  listening  with  interest  and 
attention,  and  almost  with  reverence,  so  much  that 
he  drew  down  upon  himself  the  jeers  and  taunts  of 
his  licentious  companions.  From  that  day  it  was 
noticed  that  his  customary  seat  in  the  kiosk  was 
empty.  He  was  never  seen  there  again.  What  had 
become  of  him? 

He  was  by  occupation  a  book-binder ;  and  about 
this  time  he  was  required  to  bind  a  book  for  one  of 
the  English  residents.  The  book  was  written  in 
Hindoostanee.  As  the  sheets  were  passing  through 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  351 

his  hands  he  glanced  at  the  contents,  and  was  struck 
with  their  marked  similarity  in  language  and  thought 
to  the  addresses  he  had  heard  from  the  chaplain.  He 
read  it  carefully  through  before  returning  it  to  the 
owner.  It  was  a  copy  of  the  Hindoostanee  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  which  Henry  Martyn  had 
recently  completed.  And  the  result,  under  the 
divine  blessing,  of  that  "arrow  shot  at  a  venture," 
and  the  earnest  perusal  of  that  book,  led  the  young 
scoffing  Mohammedan  book-binder  of  Cawnpore  to 
become,  after  long  and  prayerful  preparation,  an 
ordained  missionary  in  the  church  of  Christ,  and  a 
very  faithful  and  able  preacher  of  that  faith  he  once 
despised. 

THE  FKIGHTENED  KOBBEKS. 

It  is  related  that  after  John  Wesley  had  been 
preaching  one  winter's  morning,  at  five  o'clock,  at 
the  Foundry  chapel  in  London,  a  pious  young  woman, 
who  was  dressed  in  white,  in  returning  home,  midway 
across  the  fields,  saw  two  men  advancing  towards  her 
with  no  good  intention,  as  she  judged  from  their  very 
profane  language. 

She  dropped  immediately  on  her  knees,  with  the 
lantern  in  her  hand,  and  said,  "O,  Lord  God,  thou 
hast  promised  to  be  a  very  present  help  in  time  of 
need  ;  help  thine  handmaid  in  this  time  of  danger  !  " 

The  two  men  immediately  fled,  and  she  went  on 
her  way,  thankful  to  God  for  her  deliverance  from 
unreasonable  and  wicked  men. 


352  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

Some  time  after  this,  as  she  was  going  over  the 
field  again,  to  the  chapel,  she  saw  a  man  sitting  on 
the  fence,  looking  very  ill  and  emaciated.  She  spoke 
to  him  about  his  soul.  He  confessed  his  wickedness, 
and  said  that  once  he  came  over  that  field  with  a  com- 
panion, with  a  design  to  rob,  as  they  supposed,  a 
young  woman.  On  approaching  her,  the  object, 
which  was  dressed  in  white,  sunk  into  the  earth, 
when  they  instantly  fled,  supposing  that  they  had 
seen  an  apparition.  He  said  that  his  companion  was 
thrown  into  a  fever,  and  died  raving  mad,  and  that  he 
had  been  wretchedly  lingering  to  that  time,  filled 
with  apprehension  and  remorse.  The  surprise  of 
the  man  on  learning  that  he  was  now  speaking  to  the 
same  person,  as  well  as  her  interest  in  one  so  providen- 
tially brought  under  her  influence,  must  be  imagined. 
It  seemed  as  if  the  hand  of  God  had  brought  them 
together,  and  that  for  purposes  of  mercy ;  and  the 
opportunity  was  duly  improved  in  the  fear  and  in  the 
love  of  the  Master  whom  she  served.  She  exhorted 
him  to  go  to  the  chapel,  where  he  would  hear  of 
Jesus.  He  did  so,  and  became  a  Christian. 

BREAD  UPON  THE  WATERS. 

I  was  standing  by  the  side  of  my  mother  under  the 

spacious   porch   of  Dr.  B 's   church,    Glasgow, 

awaiting  the  hour  for  afternoon  service,  when  I 
observed  two  young  men  turn  a  corner  and  walk 
toward  the  church.  They  were  dressed  in  their 
working-clothes,  unshaven  and  dirty,  and  slightly 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  353 

intoxicated.  As  they  passed  the  church  door,  they 
assumed  a  swaggering,  irreverent  gait,  laughed,  and 
finally  commenced  singing  a  profane  song.  My 
mother  turned  to  me  and  said,  "Follow  those  two 
men,  and  invite  them  to  a  seat  in  our  pew." 

I  soon  overtook  them,  and  delivered  my  mother's 
message.  One  laughed  scornfully,  and  began  to 
swear ;  the  other  paused  and  pondered  ;  he  was  evi- 
dently struck  with  the  nature  of  the  invitation.  His 
companion  again  swore,  and  was  about  to  drag  him 
away.  But  he  still  paused.  I  repeated  the  invita- 
tion, and  in  a  few  seconds  he  looked  in  my  face  and 
said,  "When  I  was  a  boy  like  you,  I  went  to  church 
every  Sunday.  I  have  not  been  inside  of  a  church 
for  three  years.  I  don't  feel  right.  I  believe  I  will 
go  with  you."  I  seized  his  hand,  and  led  him  back 
to  the  house  of  God,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances 
and  oaths  of  his  companion.  A  most  excellent  ser- 
mon was  preached  from  Ecclesiastes  xi.  1.  The 
young  man  was  attentive,  but  seemed  abashed  and 
downcast. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  service  my  mother  kindly 
said  to  him,  "Have  you  a  Bible,  young  man?" 
"No,  ma'am;  but  I  can  get  one,"  was  his  reply. 
"You  can  read,  of  course?"  said  she.  "Yes, 
ma'am."  "Well,  take  my  son's  Bible  till  you  pro- 
cure one  of  your  own,  and  come  to  church  again 
next  Lord's  day.  I  shall  always  be  happy  to  accom- 
modate you  with  a  seat." 

He  put  the  Bible  in  his  pocket  and  hurried  away. 

At  family  worship  that  evening  my  mother  prayed 
12 


354  THE    GUTDING    HAND. 

fervently  for  the  conversion  of  tnat  young  man. 
Next  Sunday  came,  and  the  next,  but  the  stranger 
did  not  appear.  My  mother  frequently  spoke  of 
him,  and  appeared  grieved  at  his  absence.  He  nad 
doubtless  been  the  subject  of  her  closet  devotions. 
On  the  third  Sabbath  morning,  while  the  congrega- 
tion were  singing  the  first  psalm,  the  young  man 
again  entered  our  pew.  He  was  now  dressed  gen- 
teelly, and  appeared  thin  and  pale,  as  if  from  recent 
sickness.  Immediately  after  the  benediction,  the 
stranger  laid  my  Bible  on  the  desk,  and  left  the 
church  without  giving  my  mother  the  opportunity 
she  much  desired  of  conversing  with  him.  On  one 
of  the  blank  leaves  of  the  Bible  we  found  some  writ- 
ing in  pencil,  signed,  "W.  C."  He  asked  to  be 
remembered  in  my  mother's  prayers. 

Years  rolled  on  ;  my  praying  mother  passed  to  her 
rest ;  I  grew  up  to  manhood,  and  the  stranger  was 
forgotten . 

In  the  autumn  of  18 — ,  the  ship  St.  George,  of 
which  I  was  the  medical  officer,  anchored  in  Table 
Bay. 

Next  day,  Sabbath,  at  the  conclusion  of  public 
worship,  a  gentleman  seated  behind  me  asked  to 
look  at  my  Bible.  In  a  few  minutes  he  returned  it, 
and  I  walked  into  the  street.  I  had  arranged  to 
dine  at  "  The  George  ;  "  and  was  mounting  the  steps 
in  front  of  that  hotel,  when  the  gentleman  who  had 
examined  my  Bible  laid  his  hand  on  my  shoulder 
and  begged  to  have  a  few  minutes'  conversation. 
We  were  shown  into  a  private  apartment.  As  soon 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  355 

as  we  were  seated,  he  examined  my  countenance 
with  great  attention,  and  then  began  to  sob ;  tears 
rolled  down  his  cheeks ;  he  was  evidently  laboring 
under  some  intense  emotion.  He  asked  me  several 
questions  —  my  name,  age,  occupation,  birth-place, 
etc.  He  then  inquired  if  I  had  not,  when  a  boy, 
many  years  ago,  invited  a  drunken  Sabbath-breaker 

to  a  seat  in  Dr.  B 's  church.     I  was  astonished 

—  the  subject  of  my  mother's  anxiety  and  prayers 
was  before  me.  Mutual  explanations  and  congratu- 
lations followed ;  after  which  Mr.  C gave  me  a 

short  history  of  his  life.     . 

He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Leeds,  of  highly 
respectable  and  religious  parents,  who  gave  him  a 
good  education,  and  trained  him  up  in  the  way  of 
righteousness.  When  about  fifteen  years  of  age  his 
father  died,  and  his  mother's  straitened  circum- 
stances obliged  her  to  take  him  from  school,  and  put 
him  to  learn  a  trade.  In  his  new  situation  he 
imbibed  all  manner  of  evil,  became  incorrigibly 
vicious,  and  broke  his  mother's  heart.  Freed  now 
from  all  parental  restraint,  he  left  his  employers, 
and  traveled  to  Scotland.  In  the  city  of  Glasgow 
he  had  lived  and  sinned  for  two  years,  when  he 
was  arrested  in  his  career  through  my  mother's 
instrumentality.  On  the  first  Sabbath  of  our  strange 
interview,  he  confessed  that  after  he  left  church  he 
was  seized  with  pangs  of  unutterable  remorse.  The 
sight  of  a  mother  and  a  son  worshiping  God  together 
recalled  the  happy  days  of  his  own  boyhood,  when 
he  went  to  church  and  Sunday-school,  and  when  he, 


356  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

also,  had  a  mother,  —  a  mother  whose  latter  days  he 
had  embittered,  and  whose  gray  hairs  he  had  brought 
with  sorrow  to  the  grave.  His  mental  suffering 
threw  him  on  a  bed  of  sickness ,  from  which  he  arose 
a  changed  man.  He  returned  to  England,  cast 
himself  at  the  feet  of  his  maternal  uncle,  and  asked 
and  obtained  forgiveness.  With  his  uncle's  consent 
he  studied  for  the  ministry ;  and  on  being  ordained, 
he  entered  the  missionary  field,  and  had  been  labor- 
ing for  several  years  in  Southern  Africa. 

"The  moment  I  saw  your  Bible  this  morning,"  he 
said,  "I  recognized  it.  And  now,  do  you  know 
who  was  my  companion  on  the  memorable  Sabbath 
you  invited  me  to  church?  He  was  the  notorious 
Jack  Hill,  who  was  hanged  a  year  afterwards  for 
highway  robbery.  I  was  dragged  from  the  very 
brink  of  infamy  and  destruction,  and  saved  as  a 

brand  from  the  burning.    You  remember  Dr.  B 's 

text  on  the  day  of  my  salvation, — 'Cast  thy  bread 
upon  the  waters  :  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many 
days.' "  

THE  MYSTEKIOUS  UMINMESS. 

The  late  ingenious  Rev.  Robert  Robinson,  of 
Cambridge,  was  once  engaged  to  deliver  "the 
charge"  at  the  ordination  of  a  minister.  He  exhorted 
him  notwithstanding  every  possible  discourage- 
ment to  persevere  in  the  work  to  which  he  was 
called,  assuring  him,  that  in  the  end,  God  would 
succeed  his  labors.  With  a  view  to  encourage  him, 
he  should  relate  an  anecdote  which  had  been  lately 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  357 

told  him,  and  though  the  names  of  the  parties  had 
been  carefully  concealed,  he  had  no  doubt  of  its 
authenticity. 

He  then  stated  that  a  certain  minister,  being 
about  to  travel  in  the  country,  was  particularly 
requested  by  a  friend,  to  call  at  the  house  of  a 
farmer,  an  intimate  associate  of  his  early  years,  and 
a  man  whom  he  often  yet  visited,  and  to  take  up  his 
abode  there  for  the  night.  The  minister  pleaded 
that  he  was  a  perfect  stranger,  that  he  might  be  con- 
sidered a  sort  of  interloper,  and  several  other  things, 
all  of  which  were  overruled  by  his  friend,  who 
assured  him  of  the  piety,  and  unbounded  liberality 
of  the  farmer,  and  promised  him  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction ;  he  farther  stated  that  he  had  often  con- 
versed with  the  farmer  respecting  him,  and,  in  a 
word,  the  good  farmer  would  feel  his  mind  much 
hurt,  if  he  passed  that  way  and  did  not  spend  a 
night  under  his  roof.  Under  these  circumstances 
the  minister  consented,  and  one  summer's  evening 
rode  up  to  the  farmer's  gate. 

He  found  the  good  man  standing  near ;  but 
instead  of  meeting  him  with  the  smile  of  politeness, 
he  demanded  in  a  surly  tone  who  he  was.  The  min- 
ister gave  him  his  name,  handed  him  his  letter  of 
introduction,  and  assigned  his  reasons  for  paying 
him  a  visit.  The  farmer  eyed  him  with  suspicion, 
half  insinuated  that  he  was  an  impostor,  but  at 
length  told  him  he  might  put  his  horse  into  the 
stable,  and  walk  into  the  house.  At  first  the  minis- 
ter hesitated ;  he  almost  determined  to  ride  to  the 


358  THE    GUIDING    HAND. 

village  ;  but  on  second  thoughts  he  resolved  to  stay. 
He  unsaddled  his  horse,  and  walked  into  the  house  ; 
and  not  being  asked  to  walk  into  the  parlor,  he  took 
his  seat  with  the  servants  in  the  kitchen. 

Supper  time  came.  The  servants  whispered  among 
themselves,  "It  is  a  wonder  master  doesn't  ask  the 
gentleman  into  the  parlor."  At  his  request,  he  was 
supplied  with  a  basin  of  milk.  After  supper,  the 
family  was  collected  to  engage  in  the  devotions  of 
the  evening;  the  minister  followed  at  the  heels  of 
the  servants,  and  took  his  seat  near  the  door,  not  a 
little  surprised  at  the  treatment  he  received.  The 
farmer  read  a  portion  of  the  Scriptures ;  a  pause 
ensued ;  there  was  evidently  a  violent  agitation  in 
the  farmer's  breast ;  at  length  he  asked  the  minister 
to  pray.  They  knelt  down,  and  the  worthy  preacher 
forgot  his  trials  ;  and,  elevated  to  a  high  state  of 
holy  feeling,  his  prayer  was  eminent  for  spirituality 
and  power.  When  he  concluded  and  rose  from  his 
knees,  the  farmer,  with  tears  streaming  from  his 
eyes,  stepped  up  to  him,  and  before  the  whole  fam- 
ily, solicited  pardon  for  the  treatment  he  had  given 
him ;  assuring  him  that  he  had  never  before  so 
treated  a  minister ;  and  from  all  that  he  had  ever 
heard  of  him,  he  had  for  him  in  particular  a  high 
personal  respect;  and  finally,  that  in  reference  to  his 
conduct  that  evening,  it  was  to  himself  the  most 
mysterious  event  of  his  life.  He  concluded  by  beg- 
ging him  to  stay  with  him  a  few  days,  that  his  kind- 
ness might  make  up  for  his  past  unkindness.  The 
minister  begged  he  would  forget  what  had  passed, 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  S59 

assured  him  that  what  degree  of  shyness  he  had  wit- 
nessed should  on  his  part  be  forgotten,  and  that  his 
engagements  would  not  allow  him  to  stay  longer. 
Nothing,  however,  would  satisfy  the  farmer  but 
that  the  minister  would  stay  one  day  longer,  and 
preach  in  his  house  in  the  evening;  to  this  he  at 
length  consented,  and  went  off  in  the  morning, 
attended  with  the  best  prayers  and  wishes  of  the  man 
who  had  received  him  with  so  much  coldness. 

"And  what,  my  brother,"  asked  Robinson,  "do 
you  suppose  was  the  result?  No  less  than  three 
branches  of  the  farmer's  family  were  brought  to  a 
knowledge  of  themselves  and  of  the  Saviour,  under 
the  sermon  delivered  in  consequence  of  this  myste- 
rious unkindness." 

The  whole  congregation  were  deeply  impressed 
with  so  interesting  a  detail,  made  in  Robinson's  best 
manner ;  but  the  effect  on  the  mind  of  the  newly 
ordained  minister  was  overpowering:  he  blushed, 
then  turned  pale,  fainted,  and  was  carried  out  into 
the  air;  the  usual  remedies  were  administered,  and 
he  gradually  recovered.  The  scene  was  then 
unfolded ;  he  was  the  very  minister  who  formed  the 
hero  of  the  story ;  he  had  followed  Robinson  through- 
out till  he  came  to  the  effects  produced  by  the  ser- 
mon ;  this  he  had  never  heard  till  then ;  and  his  feel- 
ings were  overpowered  with  joy  and  gratitude. 

"  Deep  in  unfathomable  mines 

Of  never-failing  skill, 
He  treasures  up  his  bright  designs, 
And  works  his  sovereign  will," 


360  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

THE  MINISTER  AND  THE  SICK  GIEL. 

The  following  authentic  instance  of  divine  direction 
is  furnished  by  the  son  of  the  minister  referred  to ; 
who  often  heard  his  father  relate  the  circumstance  : 

Mr.  R ,  a  faithful  minister  of  the  gospel  as  well 

as  a  merchant,  some  few  years  before  railroads  were 

known,  left  his  native  village  for  the  city  of  P , 

to  make  his  usual  purchases  of  goods.  The  distance 
of  about  one  hundred  miles,  was  then  accomplished  in 
two  days'  travel  by  stage  coaches.  When  near  the 
end  of  the  second  day,  some  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
from  the  city,  he  became  impressed  with  the  thought 
that  he  would  not  reach  his  destination  that  day.  He 
tried  to  dismiss  the  idea,  and  could  only  think  that 
an  accident  would  prevent  it.  However,  the  stage 
stopped  at  the  last  exchange  hotel,  and  almost  invol- 
untarily, he  said,  "I  took  my  carpet  bag  and  walked 
into  the  hotel,  asking  for  entertainment," — concluding 
to  follow  the  bent  of  his  mind ;  not  knowing  why  or 
wherefore. 

Supper  was  announced ;  he  was  the  only  guest ; 
and  was  waited  on  by  a  middle-aged  lady.  At  an 
early  hour  he  retired,  or  purposed  to  do  so,  but  was 
interrupted  by  a  rap  at  the  door  communicating  with 
the  room  next  the  one  he  was  to  occupy.  He 
answered  the  call,  when  the  lady  of  the  dining  room 
requested  permission  to  get  something  in  the  room. 
After  having  asked  to  be  excused  for  the  interruption, 
she  had  scarcely  commenced  the  search,  when  turn- 
ing around  she  asked:  "Are  you  not  a  minister  of 


THE    GUIDING  HAND.  361 

the  gospel?"  The  answer  was,  " Yes,  madam  ;  and 
why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

She  replied  that  her  daughter  was  lying  very  ill, 
and  very  anxious  about  her  salvation.  "To-day," 
said  she,  "I  prayed  God  to  send  some  one  to  pray 
and  talk  with  her,  and  the  moment  you  put  your  foot 
in  the  dining  room  something  seemed  to  say,  'he  is 
the  man,  ask  him.'" 

Mr.  R complied  with  her  request,  found  the 

daughter  very  sick  in  body  and  mind,  prayed  and 
talked  till  near  daylight,  when  she  was  able  to  trust 
in  the  Great  Physician  of  souls,  and  was  made  to 
rejoice  in  his  pardoning  love.  Then  it  was  clear  to 
his  mind  why  he  was  not  to  end  his  journey  the 
previous  day.  Such  are  the  ways  of  Providence 
ofttimes,  ruling  and  overruling  when  we  fail  to 
recognize  the  Divine  hand. 


A  CHILD'S  TEXT. 

Rev.  Dr.  Milnor  was  brought  up  a  Quaker,  became 
a  distinguished  lawyer  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  a 
member  of  Congress  for  three  successive  terms. 
Returning  to  his  home  on  a  visit  during  his  last  Con- 
gressional term,  his  little  daughter  rushed  upon  him 
exclaiming,  "Papa  !  papa  !  do  you  know  I  can  read?" 
"No,"  he  said,  "let  me  hear  you!"  She  opened 
her  little  Bible  and  read,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart."  It  was  an  arrow  in  her 
father's  heart.  It  came  to  him  as  a  solemn  admonition . 
"Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes"  had  proceeded  God's 


362  THE  GUIDING   HAND. 

word,  and  His  Spirit  moved  within  him.  He  was 
driven  to  his  closet,  and  a  friend  calling  upon  him 
found  he  had  been  weeping  over  the  Dairyman's 
Daughter.  Although  forty  years  of  age,  he  aban- 
doned politics  and  law  for  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 
For  thirty  years  he  was  the  beloved  rector  of  St. 
George's  church,  in  Philadelphia,  the  predecessor  of 
the  venerated  Dr.  Tyng. 


THE  TOKN  HYMN. 

A  few  years  ago  a  Jewish  lady  knocked  at  the  door 
of  a  servant  of  the  gospel,  who  dwelt  in  a  German 
town.  The  object  of  her  coming  was  one  of  benev- 
olence. The  minister  was  busy,  and  his  wife  received 
the  Jewess.  In  the  course  of  a  short  conversation 
she  discovered  her  hostile  sentiments  towards  the 
true  faith,  as  well  as  her  ignorance  of  its  doctrines. 
Presently  the  minister  entered,  and  began  solemnly 
and  faithfully  to  speak  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The 
Jewish  lady  boldly  confessed  her  hatred  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  despised  Nazarine,  and  contemptuously 
rejected  all  other  except  the  Jewish  faith.  As  she 
was  about  to  go  away,  the  faithful  servant  of  the 
Lord  gave  her  a  Bible,  with  the  earnest  request  that 
she  would  read  it.  She  accepted  the  Bible,  but  the 
request  was  disregarded.  The  Bible  was  laid  aside, 
and  considered  as  quite  a  useless  article ;  the  dust  of 
days,  months,  and  years  collected  on  its  sacred, 
unopened  leaves. 

But  the  eye  of  the  God  of  Abraham  watched  over 
the  Jewish  lady,  and  he  thought  of  her  in  love.  Six 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  363 

years  after  our  friend's  visit  to  the  minister,  she  went 
out  one  morning  to  make  a  purchase  in  a  neighboring 
shop.  When  she  came  home,  and  was  looking  at  the 
articles  she  had  bought,  her  eyes  fell  upon  the  lines 
of  an  old  hymn  in  which  the  things  were  wrapped  up. 
She  read,  and  felt  interested  in  it.  The  poetry  wras 
about  a  young  lady,  a  portion  of  whose  history  was 
related;  it  told  of  a  sin  into  which  she  had  fallen, 
and  of  the  misery  which  ensued.  "I  will  try  to  get 
the  rest  of  this  poetry,"  thought  the  Jewess,  "so 
that  I  may  learn  the  end  of  this  poor  young  lady." 
She  went  back  to  the  shop,  and  among  the  torn 
paper,  the  remainder  which  she  wanted  was  found, 
and  given  to  her  for  a  trifle.  She  hastened  home, 
eager  to  learn  the  end  of  the  story.  But  how  little 
had  she  expected  such  an  end :  she  not  only  read  of 
the  misery  of  the  young  lady,  but  also  of  the  way  by 
which  she  was  led  to  Christ,  and  how  in  his  atoning 
love  she  found  peace  and  forgiveness.  Finally,  her 
happy  end  was  described,  and  how  simple  faith  in  a 
crucified  Redeemer  had  illumined  her  hour  of  death. 
"Christ !  "  said  the  Jewish  lady  to  herself;  "have  I 
not  once  before  spoken  of  this  Christ  ? "  Suddenly 
she  recollected  her  visit  to  the  servant  of  God,  —  his 
earnest  request  resounded  in  her  ears,  —  she  remem- 
bered his  present  so  long  neglected.  "I  will  fetch 
the  book  which  will  tell  me  more  about  this  Christ 
who  gave  peace  and  joy  to  the  dying  lady."  She 
opened  its  pages,  read,  and  continued  to  read  for 
hours.  The  book,  for  six  years  forgotten,  was  read 
with  all  earnestness ;  light  dawned  in  her  soul ;  the 


364  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

despised  Nazarine  stood  before  her  as  a  rejected 
Saviour.  "I  will  go  to  the  man  again  who  gave 
me  the  book,"  thought  she,  "and  learn  from  him  its 
meaning."  No  sooner  said  than  done.  She  sought 
out  the  man  of 'God,  who  still  worked  at  his  post. 
The  Lord  opened  her  heart,  as  he  did  Lydia's,  and 
in  a  short  time  she  received  Christ  with  joy  ;  and  now 
she  counted  every  thing  but  loss  in  comparison  with 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  With  boldness 
she  confessed  her  faith,  endured  trials  and  opposition, 
the  loss  of  possessions  and  friends.  She  was  bap- 
tized, and  became  a  happy  member  of  the  church  of 
Christ.  "Is  not  my  word  like  as  a  fire  9  saith  the 
Lord;  and  like  a  hammer  that  breaketh  the  rock  in 
pieces  ?  " 

THE  LOST  BOOK  AND  THE  SAVED  SINNER. 

Some  years  ago  a  little  boy  had  a  present  from  his 
grandmamma  of  a  little  book  with  verses  of  Scripture. 
It  was  bound  in  red  leather  and  had  his  name  written 
on  it.  One  day,  when  he  went  to  visit, the  lions  at 
Lynn  Mart,  his  little  book  fell  out  of  his  pocket. 
He  was  a  very  little  boy,  and  much  troubled  at  the 
loss  of  the  book,  for  his  name  was  written  on  it  by 
his  grandmother  herself. 

The  matter  was  almost  forgotten,  when  a  year 
afterward  the  clergyman  of  a  parish  about  eight  miles 
from  Lynn,  gave  the  following  history  of  the  lost  book  : 

He  said  he  had  been  sent  for  to  see  the  wife  of  a 
man  living  on  a  wild  common  on  the  outskirts  of  his 


THE    GUIDING   HAND.  365 

parish,  a  notoriously  bad  character.  The  message 
was  brought  to  him  by  the  medical  man  who  attended 
her,  and  who,  after  describing  her  as  being  most 
strangely  altered,  added,  "You  will  find  the  lion 
become  a  lamb ; "  and  so  it  proved.  She  who  had 
been  wild  and  rough,  whose  language  had  been  violent 
and  her  conduct  untamed,  lay  on  a  bed  of  exceeding 
suffering,  patient  and  resigned. 

On  arriving  at  the  house,  the  clergyman  heard  the 
following  story  from  the  woman  herself,  explaining 
the  cause  of  the  marvelous  change  :  Her  child  had 
picked  up  the  book  and  carried  it  home  as  lawful 
spoil.  Curiosity — or,  rather,  some  feeling  put  into 
her  heart  by  Him  without  whose  leave  a  sparrow 
falleth  not  to  the  ground — had  induced  her  to  read  it. 
The  Word  had  been  blessed  to  her,  and  the  under- 
standing opened  to  receive  the  gospel  truth.  Sin  in 
her  sight  had  become  hateful ;  blasphemy  was  no 
longer  heard  from  her  lips.  She  drew  from  under 
her  pillow  her  " precious  book,"  as  she  called  it,  which 
had  taken  away  the  fear  of  death. 

She  died  soon  afterward,  filled  with  joy  and  hope 
in  believing,  having  in  those  portions  of  Scripture 
found  a  Saviour  to  bear  the  burden  of  guilt  and  thus 
present  her,  clad  in  his  own  spotless  righteousness, 
before  the  throne  of  God.  God's  providence  had 
brought  to  her  that  little  book  to  lead  her  to  Christ. 

Who  can  tell  the  value  of  a  little  book  or  the 
scattering  of  a  handful  of  gospel  tracts  ?  The  seed 
may  seem  lost, — forgotten  ;  but  what  glad  surprises 
will  the  harvest  bring  !  *  'Blessed  are  ye  that  sow  !  " 


366  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

LIBERTY  FOE  A  CAPTIVE. 

A  most  striking  instance  of  the  faithfulness  of 
God  in  fulfilling  his  promises,  and  in  answering  the 
prayers  of  his  saints,  is  narrated  in  the  New  York 
Observer,  by  J.  G.  Bass,  a  city  missionary. 

In  his  labors  in  the  King's  County  penitentiary, 
he  found  a  young  man,  the  son  of  an  English  clergy- 
man, educated  and  cultivated,  a  child  of  many 
prayers,  whose  mother,  a  woman  of  deep  religious 
experience,  had  labored  to  lead  her  children  to  the 
blessed  Saviour,  and  even  down  through  her  last 
sickness  and  dying  hour,  had  commended  them  to 
God  in  prayer,  especially  imploring  the  blessing  of 
the  Lord  upon  this,  her  eldest  boy. 

In  the  year  1871,  he  came  to  America,  full  of 
hope ;  spent  a  month  in  travel,  and  through  letters 
of  recommendation,  joined  with  his  intelligence  and 
prepossessing  appearance,  obtained  a  respectable 
place  in  a  mercantile  house  in  New  York.  There, 
away  from  home,  among  strangers,  he  forgot  the 
counsels  of  his  father  and  the  prayers  of  his  mother, 
listened  to  the  seductions  of  pleasure,  formed  sinful 
associations,  contracted  evil  habits,  and  in  less  than 
four  months  from  the  time  he  left  his  father's  house, 
became  a  convicted  inmate  of  the  penitentiary,  with 
blasted  reputation,  and  ruined  hopes. 

But  while  thus  far  from  home  and  friends,  the  eye 
of  God  was  upon  the  desolate  prodigal,  and  this  is 
the  story  he  tells  : — 

' « I  was  taken  to  the  prison  in  company  with  several 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  367 

other  men,  and  put  in  a  cell,  to  await  my  turn  to 
have  my  hair  cut  and  change  my  clothes  for  the  prison 
garb.  Alone  in  the  cell,  I  felt  my  utterly  helpless, 
hopeless,  characterless  condition ;  I  was  ready  to 
fall ;  my  eye  measured  the  cheerless  place,  the  like  of 
wilich  should  be  my  home  for  months  to  come.  In 
the  corner  of  the  cell,  I  saw  a  piece  of  paper,  and  I 
instinctively  stooped  and  picked  it  up  ;  I  needed  some 
human  voice  or  some  printed  word  then  to  call  me 
back  from  despair.  The  paper  was  the  first  half  of 
Good  Cheer,  No.  1,  having  on  the  first  page  an 
engraving  of  <  The  Kind-hearted  Policeman.'  The 
first  thing  that  struck  my  eye  was  an  article  from 
the  pen  of  my  own  mother.  It  brought  to  my  mind 
the  image  of  my  dear  deceased  mother,  her  smile, 
her  counsels,  her  prayers ;  it  was  like  a  voice  from 
the  unseen  world.  As  I  raised  my  eyes  from  reading 
the  article,  blinded  almost  as  I  was  with  tears,  I  read 
at  the  head  of  the  column,  over  my  mother's  article, 
these  words  :  «  The  last  opportunity.'  Conviction  for 
sin,  deep,  pungent,  seized  upon  me ;  I  cried  unto 
God  in  my  anguish,  and  on  the  Sunday  following,  in 
the  prison  chapel,  while  singing  the  hymn, — 

'  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea, 
But  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  thou  bidst  me  come  to  thee ; 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come ! ' 

I  was  enabled  to  cast  my  guilty  soul  on  the  world's 
Redeemer  and  mine,  and  find  peace  and  pardon 
through  his  atonement.  God  suffered  me  to  go  to 


368  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

prison,  that  my  mother's  prayers  might  be  answered.9'' 

J.W was  still  a  prisoner,  but  his  soul  was  free. 

He  served  out  his  sentence,  and  is  now  at  liberty, 
rejoicing  in  Christ.  The  following  hymn,  which  he 
wrote  and  gave  to  the  chaplain,  to  read  to  his  fellow- 
prisoners,  will  tell  the  story  of  his  humble  trust  in 
Christ. 

THE   HYMN. 

Just  as  them  art,  with  naught  to  plead, 
But  that  I  suffered  for  thy  need ; 
And  for  thy  vilest  sin  did  bleed ; 
Come  then,  O  sinner,  come ! 

Just  as  thou  art,  no  longer  stay, 

Hoping  thy  guilt  to  wipe  away ; 

My  care  with  all  thy  fears  allay ; 

Come  then,  O  sinner,  come ! 

Just  as  thou  art,  though  struggling  still, 
With  unbelief  and  evil  will ; 
My  grace  can  conquer  every  ill ; 
Come  then,  O  sinner,  come ! 

Just  as  thou  art,  thy  aching  breast, 
Shall  find  in  me  relief  and  rest, 
I  welcome  all  with  sin  oppressed ; 
Come  then,  O  sinner,  come ! 

Just  as  thou  art,  with  all  thy  need ; 
Thy  Father  waits  to  clothe  and  feed, 
And  yearns  thy  wandering  heart  to  lead ; 
Come  then,  O  sinner,  come ! 

Just  as  thou  art,  do  not  delay ; 
Yield  thyself  wholly  from  this  day, 
And  thou  shalt  ne'er  be  ca«st  away ; 
Come  then,  O  sinner,  come ! 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  369 

THE  INFIDEL  AND  THE  PIEATES. 

A  native  of  Sweden,  residing  in  the  south  of 
France,  had  occasion  to  go  from  one  port  to  another 
in  the  Baltic  Sea.  When  he  came  to  the  place  whence 
he  expected  to  sail,  the  vessel  was  gone.  On  inquir- 
ing, he  found  a  fishing-boat  going  the  same  way,  in 
which  he  embarked.  After  being  for  some  time  out 
at  sea,  the,  men,  observing  that  he  had  several  trunks 
and  chests  on  board,  concluded  he  must  be  very  rich, 
and  therefore  agreed  among  themselves  to  throw  him 
overboard.  This  purpose  he  heard  them  express,  and 
it  gave  him  great  uneasiness.  So  he  took  occasion 
to  open  one  of  his  trunks,  which  contained  some 
books.  Observing  this,  they  remarked  among  them- 
selves that  it  was  not  worth  while  to  throw  him  into 
the  sea,  as  they  did  not  want  any  books,  which  they 
supposed  all  the  trunks  contained.  They  asked  him 
if  he  was  a  priest.  Hardly  knowing  what  reply  to 
make,  he  told  them  he  was ;  at  which  they  seemed 
much  pleased,  and  said  they  would  have  a  sermon  on 
the  next  day,  as  it  was  the  Sabbath. 

This  increased  the  anxiety  and  distress  of  his  mind, 
for  he  knew  himself  to  be  as  incapable  of  such  an 
undertaking  as  it  was  possible  for  any  one  to  be,  as 
he  knew  very  little  of  the  Scriptures  ;  neither  did  he 
believe  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible. 

At  length  they  came  to  a  small  rocky  island,  per- 
haps a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  circumference,  where  was 
a  company  of  pirates,  who  had  chosen  this  little 
sequestered  spot  to  deposit  their  treasures.  He  was 


370  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

taken  to  a  cave,  and  introduced  to  an  old  woman,  to 
whom  they  remarked  that  they  Avere  to  have  a  sermon 
preached  the  next  day.  She  said  she  was  very  glad 
of  it,  for  she  had  not  heard  the  word  of  God  for  a 
great  while.  His  was  a  trying  case,  for  preach  he 
must ;  still  he  knew  nothing  about  preaching.  If  he 
refused,  or  undertook  to  preach  and  did  not  please,  he 
expected  it  would  l>e  his  death.  With  these  thoughts 
he  passed  a  sleepless  night.  In  the  morning  his  mind 
was  not  settled  upon  anything.  To  call  upon  God, 
whom  he  believed  to  be  inaccessible,  was  altogether 
vain.  He  could  devise  no  way  whereby  he  might  be 
saved.  He  walked  to  and  fro,  still  shut  up  in  dark- 
ness, striving  to  collect  something  to  say  to  them,  but 
could  not  think  of  even  a  single  sentence. 

When  the  appointed  time  for  the  meeting  arrived, 
he  entered  the  cave,  where  he  found  the  men  assem- 
bled. There  was  a  seat  prepared  for  him,  and  a  Bible 
on  it.  They  sat  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour  in  pro- 
found silence  ;  and  even  then,  the  anguish  of  his  soul 
was  as  great  as  human  nature  was  capable  of  endur- 
ing. At  length  these  words  came  to  his  mind : 
"Verily,  there  is  a  reward  for  the  righteous  :  verily, 
he  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the  earth."  He  arose 
and  delivered  them ;  then  other  words  presented 
themselves  ;  and  so  on  till  his  understanding  became 
opened  and  his  heart  enlarged  in  a  manner  astonish- 
ing to  himself.  He  spoke  upon  subjects  suited  to 
their  condition, — the  rewards  of  the  righteous  ;  the 
judgments  of  the  wicked ;  the  necessity  of  repent- 
ance, and  the  importance  of  a  change  of  life.  The 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  371 

matchless  love  of  God  to  the  children  of  men,  had 
such  a  powerful  effect  upon  the  mind  of  those 
wretched  beings,  that  they  were  melted  into  tears. 

Nor  was  he  less  astonished  at  the  unbounded  good- 
ness of  Almighty  God,  in  thus  interposing  to  save 
his  spiritual  as  well  as  his  natural  life ,  and  well  might 
he  exclaim, — "This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  mar- 
velous in  our  eyes."  Under  a  deep  sense  of  God's 
goodness,  his  heart  became  filled  with  such  thankful- 
ness, that  it  was  out  of  his  power  to  express  it. 
What  a  marvelous  change  was  suddenly  brought 
about  by  Divine  interposition !  He  who  a  little 
before  disbelieved  in  God,  was  now  humbled  before 
him ;  and  they  who  were  meditating  his  death  were 
moved  to  affection. 

The  next  morning  they  put  him  in  one  of  their 
vessels  and  conveyed  him  where  he  desired.  From 
that  time  he  was  a  changed  man.  From  an  infidel  he 
became  a  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  ultimate  effect  of  this  strange  sermon  upon 
those  ungodly  men,  can  only  be  disclosed  in  the  judg- 
ment ;  but  if  in  the  coming  glory  of  the  eternal  day, 
it  should  appear  that  others  who  heard  him  then  were 
sharers  of  the  blessing,  it  would  only  add  another  to 
the  many  instances  where  the  leadings  of  divine 
Providence  have  prepared  the  way  for  the  manifesta- 
tions of  divine  grace  in  the  salvation  of  lost  sinners. 
The  word  of  grace,  proclaimed  by  a  sinner  to  sin- 
ners, had  proved  a  savor  of  life  unto  life  to  him  who 
spoke  it,  and  had  melted  the  hearts  of  those  who 
had  long  been  strangers  to  the  message  of  salvation. 


372  THE   GUIDING   HAND. 

FATHEK  HAEDING'S  CONVERT. 

The  eccentric  Father  Harding,  though  peculiar  in 
many  of  his  modes  of  action,  speech,  and  thought, 
was  yet  in  a  remarkable  degree  a  man  of  humble 
faith  and  prayer,  and  was  often  strangely  used  and 
honored  of  the  Lord  as  an  instrument  for  the  conver- 
sion of  sinners.  Bold  for  the  truth,  firm  in  his  con- 
victions, patient  in  persecutions,  and  strong  in  the 
faith,  giving  glory  to  God,  he  was  an  ever  ready  wit- 
ness for  the  Lord,  and  his  testimony  was  with  power. 

The  following  anecdote  was  related  by  Albion 
Ross,  an  esteemed  minister  of  Christ,  who  was  some- 
times his  companion  in  labor.  He  received  the  story 
from  the  lips  of  Father  Harding  himself: 

Father  Harding  once  attended  a  meeting  in  B , 

a  town  on  the  banks  of  the  Penobscot  river,  and  while 
there,  was  moved  to  rebuke  the  prevailing  worldliness 
and  pride  which  were  creeping  into  the  church,  and 
eating  out  the  power  of  godliness  like  a  canker.  On 
this  occasion,  if  we  mistake  not,  the  burden  of  his 
testimony  had  reference  to  the  too  prevalent  practice 
of  religious  congregations  relinquishing  that  exercise 
of  praise  which  is  so  comely  in  the  upright,  and  allow- 
ing this  important  portion  of  Christian  worship  to 
pass  into  the  hands  of  wicked,  worldly,  and  profane 
persons,  who  mock  the  Lord  with  falsehoods  while 
professing  to  honor  him  with  praise  ;  and  if  they  sing, 

"I'm  not  ashamed  to  own  my  Lord," 

sing  a  lie,  for  they  are  ashamed  both  of  Christ  and 


THE    GUIDING  HAND.  373 

his  words;  and  whose  hypocritical  praises,  blended 
with  dulcet  strains  of  worldly  melody,  though  in  an 
artistic  point  of  view  they  may  be  excellent,  yet  con- 
sidered as  worship  addressed  to  the  Almighty  and 
ever-living  God,  are  more  impertinent  than  the  antics 
of  a  monkey  in  the  presence-chamber  of  a  king. 

The  earnestness  with  which  he  rebuked  the  profan- 
ation of  God's  worship  by  those  who  uttered  solemn 
words  with  thoughtless  tongues,  and  the  pointed  tes- 
timony he  bore  against  prevailing  evils,  enraged  some 
of  the  people,  and  he  was  forcibly  and  summarily 
ejected  from  the  house ;  and  two  rude  men,  confiding 
more,  perhaps,  in  man's  wrath  than  in  God's  right- 
eousness, grasped  him  by  his  arms,  and  dragged  him 
down  the  hill, — he  quietly  remarking  as  he  went, 
6  'Christ  was  crucified  bet  ween  two  thieves," — hurried 
him  to  the  river's  brink,  and  pushed  him  down  head- 
long amid  the  dirt  and  sand  and  stones. 

Recovering  himself  from  his  fall,  he  meekly  climbed 
the  bank,  where  the  two  persecutors  met  him  and 
pushed  him  back  once  more  among  the  stones.  Just 
at  this  moment  a  man,  who,  while  employed  in  an 
adjacent  field,  had  observed  their  brutal  conduct, 
came  running  to  the  place,  ready  to  fight,  and  willing 
to  defend  any  one  who  was  treated  with  such  indig- 
nity and  abuse.  He  reached  the  place  eager  to  do 
battle,  but  as  he  was  beginning  to  interfere,  and  pre- 
paring for  a  struggle,  he  was  stopped  by  Father 
Harding,  who  exclaimed,  "Don't  you  touch  them!" 
and  falling  on  his  knees,  he  began  to  pray  for  those 
who  so  despitefully  used  him  and  persecuted  him, 


374  THE  GUIDING   HAND. 

with  a  fervor  and  unction  known  only  to  those  whose 
acquaintance  with  God  is  intimate,  and  whose  faith 
overcome th  the  world.  The  prayer  was  ended  ;  the 
old  man  was  victorious  through  divine  power ;  and, 
as  of  old  on  that  occasion  when  an  enraged  multitude, 
filled  with  wrath  at  the  teachings  of  the  Messiah,  had 
thrust  him  forth  to  hurl  him  headlong  unto  death,— 
"He,  passing  through  the  midst  of  them,  went  his 
way,"  teaching  and  preaching  as  before — so  the  old 
man  went  on  in  peace,  rejoicing  in  his  deliverance 
from  his  enemies,  and  preaching  salvation  far  and 
near. 

But  this  was  not  the  end.  God,  who  sends  his  ser- 
vants forth  to  sow  the  seed,  watches  and  waters  it 
himself  when  the  sower's  hand  is  busy  in  far  off  fields, 
and  it  was  in  his  divine  purpose  to  make  a  blessing 
abound  even  through  such  a  scene  of  persecution  as 
that.  There  was  a  "need  be"  for  that  trial,  and  so 
there  is  for  all  the  Christian's  tribulations,  and  oh, 
what  blessings  God  will  bestow  amid  them  all  if  we 
will  simply  hold  fast  our  integrity  in  obedience  and 
faith,  and  endure  all  things  as  he  has  commanded  us 
to  do !  Then  he  can  work  with  us  and  make  our 
defeats  victories,  and  our  sorrows  joys. 

So  it  was  with  Father  Harding.  Years  passed 
away ;  the  scene  at  the  river  bank  was  only  remem- 
bered as  one  of  many  instances  where  he  had  been 
counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  the  name  of 
Christ,  and  had  been  called  to  endure  violence  for 
his  Master's  sake ;  nor  did  he  dream  of  any  special 
blessing  on  that  hour.  But  one  day  as  he  was 


THE   GUIDING   HAND.  375 

traveling  in  a  distant  locality,  he  was  hailed  by  a 
stranger  who  greeted  him  with  all  the  warmth  of 
Christian  love  and  friendship. 

"I  do  not  know  you,"  said  Father  Harding. 

"Don't  you  remember  when  those  two  men  were 

pushing  you  down  the  river  bank  at  B ,  a  man 

came  running  to  your  defense  ?" 

"Yes." 

"I  was  that  man;  and  when  you  forbade  me  to 
touch  them,  and  knelt  and  prayed  for  God  to  bless 
those  who  despiteful ly  used  you  and  persecuted  you, 
I  thought  in  my  mind,  'There,  I  must  have  just  the 
kind  of  religion  which  that  old  man  has.'  And  from 
that  time,  again  and  again,  these  words  would  ring  in 
my  ears,  'You  must  have  the  same  kind  of  religion 
which  that  old  man  had,'  until  at  last  I  sought  and 
found  the  Lord,  and  now  I  greet  you  as  a  fellow-pil- 
grim bound  for  the  land  of  rest." 

Such  was  the  substance  of  their  conversation,  and 
the  reader  can  easily  imagine  what  a  blessed  Eben- 
ezer  to  the  weary  pilgrim  was  this  memorial  of  God's 
guiding  goodness,'  and  his  gracious  care.  Often  in 
after  years  did  Father  Harding  relate  the  story,  show- 
ing how  God  could  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
him,  and  feeling,  like  the  apostle,  that  the  things  that 
had  happened  unto  him  had  fallen  out  for  the  further- 
ance of  the  gospel,  and  that  thus,  in  this  strange  and 
mysterious  way,  God  was  pleased  to  bring  home  a 
lost  sinner  who  might  not  have  been  reached  by  any 
of  the  ordinary  instrumentalities  which  could  have 
been  employed. 


376  THE   GUIDING  HAND. 

A  WORD  IN  SEASON. 

Mr.  Thomas  Champness  says  :  "One  snowy  day  I 
was  preaching  in  Yorkshire  on  the  top  of  a  great  hill, 
and  there  was  a  family  that  used  to  worship  in  that 
chapel  that  lived  a  long  way  from  it.  I  had  not  a 
chance  to  say  anything  to  them  about  spiritual  things. 
There  were  two  young  women  in  the  family  for 
whom  I  was  very  much  drawn  to  pray.  I  was  anx- 
ious to  get  a  word  into  their  hearts  about  the  Saviour. 
This  snowy  day  prevented  their  return  to  their  farm- 
house after  the  afternoon  service  as  their  custom  was. 
They  had  to  stay  until  the  evening  service,  and  the 
gentleman  they  were  invited  to  stay  with  was  the 
same  that  entertained  me.  When  I  went  into  the 
drawing-room  who  should  be  there  but  the  girl  about 
whom  I  had  been  praying,  and  praying  that  I  might 
have  an  opportunity  of  saying  a  word  to.  I  felt  that 
now  was  the  time,  and  said  just  a  sentence  or  two, 
and  then  somebody  came  in,  so  that  no  more  was 
said.  During  the  week  she  wrote  me  a  letter  in 
which  she  said  :  'Nobody  ever  spoke  to  me  about  my 
soul,  and  I  had  been  praying  to  God  that  you  would 
do  so  some  day ; '  and  the  result  was  that  she  gave 
herself  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Thousands  of  unsaved  souls  are  to-day  waiting,  as 
you,  reader,  perhaps  once  waited,  that  some  one  may 
say  to  them  a  word  to  guide  them  in  the  way  of  peace. 
Their  hearts  yearn  as  your  heart  yearned  in  the  days 
when  you  knew  not  God.  They  shrink  as  you  shrunk 
from  a  public  avowal  of  their  thoughts  and  feelings, 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  377 

but  they  are  hungering  and  thirsting  for  righteousness 
and  for  rest.  Will  you  not  speak  to  them  some  word, 
as  God  shall  give  you  a  word  to  speak,  and  trust  that 
he  will  make  the  message  effectual  to  their  present 
and  eternal  salvation  ? 


THE  TRACT  AND  THE  OYSTER. 

A  professional  diver  said  he  had  in  his  house  — 
what  would  probably  strike  a  visitor  as  a  very  strange 
chimney  ornament — the  shells  of  an  oyster  holding 
fast  a  piece  of  printed  paper.  The  possessor  of  this 
ornament  was  diving  on  the  coast,  when  he  observed 
at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  this  oyster  on  a  rock,  with 
a  piece  of  paper  in  its  mouth,  which  he  detached,  and 
commenced  to  read  through  the  goggles  of  his  head- 
dress. It  was  a  gospel  tract,  and,  coming  to  him 
thus  strangely,  and  unexpectedly,  so  impressed  his  un- 
converted heart  that  he  said,  "I  can  hold  out  against 
God's  mercy  in  Christ  no  longer,  since  it  pursues 
me  thus."  He  became,  while  in  the  ocean's  depths, 
a  repentant,  converted,  and  (as  he  was  assured) 
sin-forgiven  man, — "saved  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea." 

Are  you  doing  anything  to  publish  and  scatter 
gospel  tracts?  A  tract  which  costs  a  penny  may 
save  a  soul.  And  tracts  can  be  multiplied  by  millions 
if  means  are  furnished  to  pay  their  trifling  cost. 
Some  can  write  tracts  ;  others  can  publish  them  eco- 
nomically ;  others  can  pay  for  them  ;  others,  still,  can 
distribute  them  judiciously  ;  and  so  all  can  be  helpers 
in  the  work,  and  sharers  in  the  blessing. 


378  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

THE  SUICIDE  AND  HER  BIBLE. 

"  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong." 

The  late  Rev.  T.  Wills,  in  the  course  of  one  of 
his  journeys,  preaching  at  Lady  Huntington's  chapel, 
in  Bristol,  from,  "My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee," 
took  occasion  to  relate  the  circumstance  of  a  young 
woman  who  knew  and  loved  the  Lord ;  but  was 
laboring  under  a  strong  temptation  to  put  a  period 
to  her  life  by  drowning  herself.  The  enemy  so  far 
succeeded  as  to  prevail  on  her  to  go  to  the  river,  in 
order  to  put  the  dreadful  plan  in  execution ;  but  as 
she  was  adjusting  her  clothes,  to  prevent  her  from 
floating,  she  felt  something  in  her  pocket ; — it  was 
her  Bible.  She  thought  she  would  take  it  out  and 
look  in  it  again  for  the  last  time.  She  did  so  ;  and 
the  above-mentioned  text  immediately  caught  her  eye. 
The  Lord  applied  it  with  its  own  energy  to  her  soul ; 
the  snare  was  instantly  broken,  the  temptation  was 
taken  away,  and  she  returned,  blessing  him  who  had 
given  her  the  victory. 

The  relation  of  this  circumstance  was  blessed  to 
the  conversion  of  a  man  and  his  wife  then  present ; 
and  to  completing  a  similar  deliverance.  These  per- 
sons, it  appeared,  previous  to  this  time,  had  lived  in 
an  almost  continual  state  of  enmity ;  their  habitation 
exhibited  a  scene  of  discord  and  confusion  ;  and  often 
their  quarrels  would  end  in  a  total  silence.  Some 
considerable  time  would  elapse  before  a  single  word 
would  be  exchanged  by  them.  In  one  of  these 
unhappy  seasons,  the  wife  came  to  the  dreadful 


EHE   GUIDING   HAND.  379 

determination  of  drowning  herself.  She  accordingly 
left  her  house  for  the  purpose,  and  came  near  the 
river ;  but  it  being  too  light,  she  feared,  on  that 
account,  she  should  be  detected.  She  therefore 
knew  not  where  to  go  till  it  grew  darker.  She  at 
length  espied  a  place  of  worship  open.  She  thought 
she  would  go  in,  and  when  it  was  over  it  would  be 
sufficiently  dark. 

She  went  in.  Mr.  Wills  was  preaching ;  and,  as 
already  observed,  related  the  before-mentioned  cir- 
cumstance. She  heard  with  attention ;  the  Lord 
blessed  what  she  heard  to  her  conversion  ;  and  the 
devil  lost  his  ends.  She  returned  another  person ; 
and  when  she  came  home  her  husband  looked  at  her 
with  surprise.  Her  countenance,  which  before  was 
the  index  of  a  malevolent  disposition,  now  indicated 
the  temper  of  a  lamb.  Struck  with  her  appearance, 
her  husband  asked  her  where  she  had  been.  She 
told  him.  He  immediately  interrogates  her,  "And 
did  you  see  me  there?"  She  replied,  "No."  He 
added,  "  But  I  was;  and,  blessed  be  God,  I  found 
his  grace  sufficient  for  me  also  !  " 


WHAT  A  FLY  DID. 

Near  by  a  church  lived  a  very  wicked  man,  a 
rum-seller,  by  the  way,  who  seemed  not  to  fear  God 
or  regard  man.  He  despised  all  good  things,  and 
loved  to  do  wrong  rather  than  right.  It  happened 
that  the  church  near  him  was  remodeled,  and  an  organ 


380  THE    GUIDING   HAND. 

was  put  in,  and  there  was  to  be  some  good  playing 
on  it,  and  excellent  music  by  the  choir  on  the  "re- 
opening" of  the  church.  This  man  wanted  to  hear 
the  music,  but  he  did  not  want  to  hear  the  sermon. 
He  was  puzzled  for  the  time,  but  finally  hit  upon 
this  plan :  he  would  go  into  the  church,  take  a  seat 
in  an  obscure  corner  and  listen  to  the  music,  but 
stop  his  ears  with  his  fingers  when  there  was  any 
praying,  preaching,  or  talking.  So  he  went  in  and 
enjoyed  the  singing  and  the  sound  of  the  organ,  but 
when  the  minister  prayed  he  stopped  his  ears  as 
tightly  as  possible.  When  prayer  was  over,  and 
singing  commenced,  he  took  his  fingers  from  his  ears, 
but  stopped  them  again  as  soon  as  the  minister  began 
reading  a  chapter  in  the  Bible.  While  he  sat  thus, 
self-made  deaf,  a  fly  lit  on  his  nose  and  began  to  run 
round,  and  occasionally  it  stopped  and  thrust  down 
its  bill  as  if  to  take  a  bite  from  the  skin.  The  man 
bore  it  as  long  as  he  could,  and  then  involuntarily 
brushed  the  fly  off  with  his  hand,  leaving  one  ear 
unstopped  while  he  did  so.  Just  at  that  instant  the 
minister  read  the  verse,  "He  that  hath  ears  to  hear, 
let  him  hear."  The  words  struck  him  with  peculiar 
force  ;  he  thought  a  moment,  unstopped  his- other  ear, 
and  listened  to  the  rest  of  the  chapter  and  to  the 
sermon  following.  He  went  from  the  church  with  a 
changed  purpose,  became  a  good  man,  and  lived 
many  years,  trying  all  the  time  to  do  all  the  good  he 
could  to  others,  and  to  repair  the  mischief  done  by 
his  former  conduct.  The  improvement  in  the  church, 
the  organ,  the  attractive  exercises,  were  all  instru- 


THE    GUIDING    HAND.  381 

mental  in  drawing  this  man  in  where  a  good  seed 
might  be  dropped  into  the  soil  of  his  mind,  but  that 
little  fly  was  also  necessary  to  unstop  his  ears. 


A  STAR  IN  THE  CROWN. 

A  young  lady  was  preparing  for  the  dance  hall, 
and  standing  before  a  large  mirror,  placed  a  light 
crown  ornamented  with  silver  stars,  upon  her  head. 
While  thus  standing,  a  little  fair-headed  sister  climbed 
in  a  chair  and  put  up  her  tiny  fingers  to  examine  this 
beautiful  head-dress,  and  was  accosted  thus, — " Sis- 
ter, what  are  you  doing?  You  should  not  touch  that 
crown  !  "  Said  the  little  one, — "I  was  looking  at  that, 
and  thinking  of  something  else."  "Pray,  tell  me 
what  you  are  thinking  about — yow,  a  little  child." 
"I  was  remembering  that  my  Sabbath-school  teacher 
said,  that  if  we  save  sinners  by  our  influence  we 
shall  win  stars  to  our  crown  in  heaven ;  and  when 
I  saw  those  stars  in  your  crown  I  wished  I  could  save 
some  soul."  The  elder  sister  went  to  the  dance,  but 
in  solemn  meditation ;  the  words  of  the  innocent 
child  found  a  lodgment  in  her  heart,  and  she  could 
not  enjoy  the  association  of  her  friends  At  a  season- 
able hour  she  left  the  hall  and  returned  to  her  home  ; 
and  going  to  her  chamber,  where  her  dear  little  sis- 
ter was  sleeping,  imprinted  a  kiss  upon  her  soft 
cheek,  and  said:  "Precious  sister,  you  have  one 
star  for  your  crown ;  "  and  kneeling  at  the  bedside, 
offered  a  fervent  prayer  to  God  for  mercy. 


382  THE  GUIDING    HAND. 


JUXTA  CRUCEM. 

From  the  cross  the  blood  is  falling, 
And  to  us  a  voice  is  calling 

Like  a  trumpet,  silver- clear 
'Tis  the  voice  announcing  pardon, 
IT  is  FINISHED,  is  its  burden, 

Pardon  to  the  far  and  near. 

Peace  that  precious  blood  is  sealing, 
All  our  wounds  forever  healing, 

And  removing  every  load ; 
Words  of  peace  that  voiee  has  spoken, 
Peace  that  shall  no  more  be  broken, 

Peace  between  the  soul  and  God. 

Love,  its  fullness  there  unfolding, 
Stand  we  here  in  joy  beholding, 

To  the  exiled  sons  of  men ; 
Love,  the  gladness  past  all  naming, 
Of  an  open  heaven  proclaiming, 

Love  that  bids  us  enter  in. 

GOD  is  LOVE  ; — we  read  the  writing, 
Traced  so  deeply  in  the  smiting 

Of  the  glorious  Surety  there. 
GOD  is  LIGHT  ; — we  see  it  beaming, 
Like  a  heavenly  dayspring  gleaming, 

So  divinely  sweet  and  fair. 

Cross  of  shame,  yet  tree  of  glory, 
Round  thee  winds  the  one  great  story 

Of  this  ever- changing  earth ; 
Centre  of  the  true  and  holy, 
Grave  of  human  sin  and  folly, 

W6mb  of  nature's  second  birth. 

HORATIU8   BONAK 


? 


BOOKS  FOR  STUDENTS, 

THE  CROWNING  SIN  OF  THE  AGE:  The  Perversion  of  Mar- 
riage, By  Brevard  D.  Sinclair,  Member  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Political  and  Social  Science ;  Late  member  of  the  Bar  of  the 
Supreme  Courts  of  Ohio,  North  Carolina  and  the  United  States  of 
America.  Unique  paper  covers,  50  cents.  Fine  edition,  $1,00, 

"If  I  had  a  voice  that  could  drown  the  thunder  of  Niagara,  I  would 
endorse  all  that  you  say  in  reference  to  the  sin  that  is  crying  to  heaven. 
You  deserve  the  lasting  gratitude  of  all  lovers  of  their  kind.  The  free  pub- 
lic school,  the  Christian  Sabbath,  all  the  other  institutions  that  we  hold 
dear,  and  the  perpetuity  of  the  Republic  itself,  are  in  danger  from  the  de- 
struction of  the  American  people  by  the  causes  pointed  out  by  you." — 
ELIJAH  A.  MOUSE,  Member  of  Congress,  Canton,  Mass. 

MURDOCK'S  MOSHEIM'S  CHURCH  HISTORY,    Institutes  of 

Ecclesiastical  History  from  the  birth  of  our  Saviour  to  the  Eighteenth 
Century.  By  John  Lawrence  Mosheim,  D.  D.,  Chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Gottingen ;  translated  with  a  preface  and  copious 
notes  by  James  Murdoch,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History. 
A  new  edition  with  portrait  of  the  translator  and  biographical  sketch 
by  H.  L.  HASTINGS.  Three  volumes  in  one,  large  8vo.,  pp.  1500,  half 
leather,  $4,00. 

MURDOOK'S  SYRIAO  NEW  TESTAMENT,      With  a  portrait 

and  biographical  sketch  of  the  translator  by  H.  L.  HASTINGS.  One 
volume,  half  leather,  8vo.,  pp.  525,  $2.50. 

THE  REIGN  OP  CHRIST  ON  EARTH :  The  Voice  of  the  Church 

in  all  Ages  Concerning  the  Coming  and  Kingdom  of  the  Redeemer. 
By  Daniel  T.  Taylor.  Revised  and  edited  with  a  preface,  by  H.  L. 
HASTINGS.  Crown,  8vo.,  pp.  601,  cloth,  $1,00( 

HUDSON'S    GREEK     AND    ENGLISH    CONCORDANCE 

of  the  New  Testament.  Prepared  by  Charles  F.  Hudson,  B.  A.- 
under  the  direction  of  H.  L.  HASTINGS,  Editor  of  THE  CHRIS- 
TIAN. Revised  and  completed  by  EZRA  ABBOT,  D.  D.,  LL.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  New  Testament  Criticism  and  Interpretation  in  the  Divinity 
School  of  Harvard  University.  Eighth  edition ;  to  which  is  added 
T.  S.  GREEN'S  Greek-English  Lexicon  to  the  New  Testament.  Crown 
8vo.  744  pp.  Price,  cloth,  $2,00 1  half  leather,  $2,50,  English 
edition,  clotk,  (S.  Bagster  &  Sons,  Limited),  without  Lexicon,  7s.  6d. 

H.L.     HASTINGS'     SCRIPTURAL     TRACT      REPOSITORY. 

BOSTON,  MASS.:  47  CORNHILL,         I       LONDON:  5a  PATERNOSTER  Row, 
H.L.HASTINGS.  I         MARSHALL    BROS.,  AGENTS. 


HUDSON'S  GREEK-ENGLISH  CONCOKMNCE. 

A  CRITICAL  GREEK  AND  EXGLISH  CONCORDANCE  OF  THE  NEW 
TESTAMENT.  Prepared  by  CHARLES  F.  HUDSON,  B.  A.,  under  the 
direction  of  H.  L.  HASTINGS,  Editor  of  THE  CHRISTIAN.  Revised 
and  completed  by  EZRA  ABBOT,  D.  D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  New 
Testament  Criticism  and  Interpretation  in  the  Divinity  School  of 
Harvard  University.  Eighth  edition ;  to  which  is  added  T.  S.  GREEN'S 
Greek-English  Lexicon  to  the  New  Testament.  Crown  8vo.  744  pp. 
Price,  cloth,  $2.00  ;  half  leather,  $2.50.  English  edition,  cloth, 
without  Lexicon,  7s.  6d. 

This  book  is  designed  and  prepared  for  Bible  students  who  do  not  know 
a  word  or  a  letter  of  Greek,  as  well  as  for  the  most  careful  and  critical 
scholars.  The  index  meets  the  need  of  any  intelligent  student  of  the  Eng- 
lish Bible.  It  leads  the  ordinary  English  reader  to  the  Greek  original, 
classifies  all  the  passages  where  each  Greek  word  occurs,  reveals  at 
a  glance  the  number  of  ways  in  which  it  is  translated  in  the  New 
Testament,  shows  in  what  senses  it  is  most  frequently  or  more  rarely 
used,  and  exhibits  in  their  order  first  the  primary,  and  afterwards  the 
several  more  remote  senses  of  the  different  terms.  It  presents  all  the  im- 
portant various  readings  of  Jie  most  famous  ancient  manuscripts  of  the 
New  Testament.  It  supplies  a  Greek  concordance  of  the  New  Testament, 
presents  late  results  of  sound  textual  investigation,  and  affords  the  most 
critical  student  valuable  information  which  he  can  nowhere  else  so  easily 
obtain;  yet  all  is  so  simply  stated  that  the  mere  English  reader  can  use  it  in 
his  every-day  studies.  It  is  so  cheap  that  the  multitude  may  purchase  it,  and 
so  compact  and  portable  that  it  may  be  made  the  constant  companion  of  the 
traveler,  the  student  and  the  evangelist. 

Its  adaptation  to  the  use  of  less  scholarly  ministers  and  Bible  students 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  over  a  thousand  copies  have  been 
ordered  by  the  Deans  of  the  Chautauqua  School  of  Theology,  which  extensive 
educational  agency  is  used  very  largely  by  students  unacquainted  with  the 
Greek  language.  It  has  the  high  endorsement  of  such  eminent  scholars  as 
Canon  Westcott,  Bishop  Lightfoot,  Dr.  Joseph  Angus,  Prof.  H.  B. 
Hackett,  D.  D.,  Prof.  Timothy  Dwight,  D.  D.,  Prof.  J.  Henry  Thayer,  D. 
D.,  Dr.  M.  B.  Riddle,  Bishop  Ellicott,— President  of  the  Westminster  Com- 
pany of  New  Testament  Revisers,  Dr.  Philip  Schaff,—  President  of  the 
American  Company,  Prof.  J.  W.  Lindsey,  Prof.  D.  S.  Talcott,  Presi- 
dent E.  0.  Haven,  President  Thos.  Chase,  Prof.  E.  H.  Thwing,  Prof. 
C.  S.  Harrington,  Edward  C.  Mitchell,  D.  D.,  George  Hale,  D.  D.,  Prof. 
Alvah  Hovey,  Prof.  L.  T.  Townsend,  D.  D.,  and  others  of  equal  repu- 
tation. There  in  nothing  in  the  literary  world  to  take  its  place. 


H.  L.  HASTINGS,  47  CORNHILL,  BOSTON,  MASS. 
Samuel  Bagster  &  Sons,  Ld.,  London,  15  Paternoster  Row,  E.  C. 


THE  CKOWNIM  SIN  OF  THE  AGE. 


BY   BREVARD  D.  SINCLAIR. 


THE  CKOWNING  SIN  OP  THE  AGE  The  Perversion  of  Mar- 
riage, By  Brevard  D.  Sinclair,  Member  of  the  American  Academy 
of  Political  and  Social  Science ;  Late  member  of  the  Bar  of  the 
Supreme  Courts  of  Ohio,  North  Carolina  and  of  the  United  States  of 
America.  Unique  paper  covers,  50  cents.  Fine  edition,  $1,00, 

"If  I  had  a  voice  that  could  drown  the  thunder  of  Niagara,  I  would 
endorse  all  that  you  say  in  reference  to  the  sin  that  is  crying  to  heaven. 
You  deserve  the  lasting  gratitude  of  all  lovers  of  their  kind.  The  free  pub- 
lic school,  the  Christian  Sabbath,  all  the  other  institutions  that  we  hold 
dear,  and  the  perpetuity  of  the  Republic  itself  are  in  danger  from  the  de- 
struction of  the  American  people  by  the  causes  pointed  out  by  you.  Once 
more  I  thank  you  for  your  bold  and  fearless  utterances  upon  this  subject.  I 
trust  the  same  may  have  a  wide  circulation." — ELIJAH  A.  MOUSE,  Mem- 
ber of  Congress,  Canton,  Mass. 

"Mr.  Sinclair  told  some  most  solemn  truths;  truths  that  were  as  searching 
as  the  curse  of  God.  We  wish  that  some  of  the  Boston  preachers  in  doing 
such  good  work  in  calling  the  attention  to  the  necessity  of  reform  in  the 
poverty  stricken  portions  of  Boston,  would  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  New. 
buryport  clergyman. "— BKITISH  AMERICAN  CITIZEN. 

"Please  permit  me  to  thank  you  for  your  sermon  on  a  heinous  sin  that  is 
not  confined  to  New  England.  As  a  physician  I  can  testify  to  the  enormity 
of  the  evil."— HENRY  ROOT,  M.  D.f  Surgeon,  5±th  and  5Sth  JV.  Y.  Vol- 
unteers, and  Vice  President  of  the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

"  I  wish  to  extend  to  you  my  sincere  congratulations  for  your  fearless 
exposure  of  the  crime  of  New  England.  I  am  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  believe 
as  you  do,  that  criminal  abortion  is  fast  wiping  out  the  original  race  whose 
place  is  being  filled  by  the  foreigner."— M.  B.  SULLIVAN,  M.  D. 

"Let  me  say  as  a  physician  of  over  thirty  years'  experience,  the  worst 
half  has  never  been  told  by  you  or  any  other  man.  It  is  a  pity  too  that  the 
people  are  not  ready  and  anxious  to  hear  the  truth.  Still  those  guilty  of 
what  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  John  Todd,  of  this  state,  called  'Fashionable  Murder,' 
expect  to  enter  the  gates  of  Heaven,  without  repentance.  *  *  *  I  can  give 
3rou  evidence  to  cover  every  point  on  which  you  have  thus  far  spoken." — 
J.  FARRAR,  M.  D.,  Boston,  Mass. 


jjics^**-8* 


H.L.     HASTINGS'     SCRIPTURAL     TRACT      REPOSITORY. 

BOSTON,  MASS.:  47  CORNHILL,         I       LONDON:  5a  PATERNOSTER  Row, 
H.L.HASTINGS.  MARSHALL    BROS.,  AGENTS. 


«i<<3=-_4.- 


THE    FAITH    SERIES. 

WRITTEN  AND  EDITED  BY  H.   L.   HASTINGS. 


Each  volume  independent  of  the  others,  though  of  uniform  size. 

These  volumes  probably  contain  a  larger  collection  of  authen* 
ticated  records  of  providential  interposition  and  answers  to 
believing  prayer  than  can  be  elsewhere  found  in  the  English 
language.  A  large  majority  of  the  accounts  embodied  in  these 
books  have  been  written  expressly  for  the  pages  of  THE  CHRISTIAN, 
&  large  monthly  religious  periodical,  edited  and  published  since 
1886  by  H.  L.  Hastings,  in  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A.,  and  give  facts 
ivhich  have  occurred  under  the  observation  of  the  writer,  or,  in  the 
experience  of  those  with  whom  he  is  personally  acquainted.  All 
such  accounts,  for  the  correctness  of  which  he  is  personally  prepared 
to  vouch,  are  distinguished  in  the  Index  by  a  star.  [*] 

THE  GUIDING-  HAND ;  or  Providential  Direction,  illus 
trated  by  authentic  instances  of  Relief  and  Deliverance  in  times  olf 
trouble  and  perplexity  ;  of  Direction  through  dreams  and  mental 
impressions,  and  of  Providential  Evidence  resulting  in  the  con- 
version of  sinners.  Recorded  and  collected  by  H.  L.  HASTINGS. 
Crown  8vo.,  cloth,  pp.  382.  (3s.  6d.)  Price,  $1.00. 

"It  would  be  well  if  Pantheists  and  other  deniers  of  Divine  Providence 
•would  only  take  the  trouble  to  read  the  authentic  instances  in  illustration  of 
this  doctrine,  given  by  Mr.  Hastings  in  his  beautiful  little  work  bearing  the 
title  of  THE  GUIDING  HAND."— Leeds  Mercury. 

TALES  OF  TRUST;  Instances  of  God's  Care  and  Faithful, 
ness  in  providing  for  His  people ;  Providential  Direction  in  the  events 
of  life,  and  special  Guidance  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Word  of  God. 
Recorded  and  collected  by  H.  L.  HASTINGS.  Cl.  8vo.  Price,  $1.00. 

"  We  would  commend  this  work,  replete  with  testimonies  to  God's  faithful- 
ness, to  all  who  have  faith  to  believe  that  God  hears  and  answers  prayer. 
In  its  perusal  their  belief  will  be  strengthened,  and  their  hearts  lifted  up 
in  adoring  gratitude  to  Ciod,  who  is  the  same  now  and  for  ever."— Christian 
depository. 

EBENEZERS  ;  or  Records  of  Prevailing  Prayer  ;  including 
Prayers  for  Rescue,  Relief  and  Blessing  ;  Prayers  for  the  Healing 
of  Bodily  Diseases  ;  Prayers  for  the  Conversion  of  the  Impenitent. 
Written  and  collected  by  H.  L.  HASTINGS.  Cl.  Svo.Pn'ce,  §1.00. 

PEEBLES  FROM  THE  PATH  OF  A  PILGRIM  * 
Personal  Reminiscences  of  Answers  to  Prayers,  and  Providential 
Guidance  and  Interposition,  in  connection  with  Gospel  Labour, 
Rescue  Work,  and  of  Mission  Work  among  the  Freearnen  of  tha 
Southern  States  of  America  after  the  close  of  the  great  Civil  War. 
By  Mrs.  H.  L.  HASTINGS.  A  book  of  deep  and  romantic  interest. 
Crown  8vo.  (In  British  Empire,  3s.  6d  )  Price,  $1.00. 

H.    L.    HASTINGS'    SCRIPTURAL    TRACT    REPOSITORY. 

BOSTON,  U.S.A. :  49  COBNHELL,         I      LONDON:  10  PATERNOSTER  Bow, 
H.  L,  HASTINGS.  MARSHALL  BROS.,.  AGENTS. 


THE    HOME    SERIES. 

WRITTEN  AND  EDITED  BY  H.   L.    HASTINGS. 

During  twenty  years  spent  in  editorial  work,  we  have  accumu- 
lated many  choice  anecdotes  and  gems,  well  worthy  of  preservation. 
From  these  the  choicest  have  been  selected  and  published  in  three 
neat  volumes,  uniform  in  size  but  independent  in  matter. 

"  We  have  often  been  at  our  wits'  end  to  find  something  to  read  at  pur 
mothers'  meetings.  The  volumes  of  Mr.  Hastings  just  meet  our  require- 
ments."—E.  W.  Bitllinger,  D.D. 

THE  FAMILY  CIRCLiE  ;  a  collection  of  Anecdotes  and 
Incidents  adapted  to  interest,  instruct  and  profit  all  members  of  the 
family  ;  furnishing  delightful  and  useful  reading  for  the  home, 
and  abounding  in  facts  and  illustrations  useful  to  Ministers, 
Teachers,  Evangelists,  &c.  By  H.  L.  HASTINGS.  Crown  8vo., 
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"  The  anecdotes,  sketches,  and  instructions  contained  in  these  three  hundred 
and  eighteen  pages,  for  their  intrinsic  character  and  variety,  make  a  more  than 
ordinarily  interesting  and  entertaining  book.  Bead  in  the  family  circle,  they 
will  light  up,  cheer,  and  make  profitable,  many  an  hour  that  would  otherwise 
be  wasted  with  idle  gossip  or  dreamy  yawning.' ' — Herald  and  Presbyter. 

"  The  pieces  are  real  gems  of  thought."— Leeds  Mercury. 

"  Because  of  the  brevity  and  variety  of  the  contents,  is  liable  to  win  a  more 
permanent  place  than  a  series  of  treatises  on  one  subjectv"— The  Interior. 

FIRESIDE  READINGS  FOR  HAPPY  HOMES. 
Written  and  selected  by  H.  L.  HASTINGS.  A  collection  of 
Tales,  Sketches,  Incidents  and  Earnest  Words  ;  instructive, 
stirring,  and  healthfully  stimulating  to  young  and  old.  Crowji 
8vo\,  pp.  382,  cloth.  <3s.  6d.)  Price,  $1.00. 

"  Such  a  book  as  this  is  designed  to  make  all  homes  happier  by  its  ex- 
cellence and  variety  of  brief  and  pithy  selections."— Presbyterian  Journal. 

"  It  consists  of  remarkable  narratives,  short,  pithy  articles,  and  various 
poems,  admirably  suited  to  family  reading.  Love,  courtship,  marriage,  the 
relations  of  husbands  and  wives,  and  the  training  of  children,  are  wisely  and 
wittily  dealt  with.  We  could  especially  wish  that  all  young  people,  whether 
male  or  female,  would  read  it  before  taking  the  first  steps  toward  entering 
wpon  married  life."— Leeds  Mercury. 

READINGS  FOR  LEISURE  MOMENTS ;  acollection 
of  Miscellanies,  earnest,  sensible,  devout,  and  practical ;  applying 
Divine  truth  to  daily  ciuty,  and  encouraging  to  all  good  works.  By. 
H.  L.  HASTINGS.  Or.  8vo.,  pp.  382,  cloth.  (3s.  6d.)  Price,  $1.00. 

"  Mr.  Hastings  has  a  happy  facility  of  getting  hold  of  the  right  iUustration 
to  enforce  Biblical  truth.  The  tone  of  this  series  of  books  is  good,  and  they 
will  be,  we  trust,  helpful  to  many  pious  hearts,  and  in  leading  the  young 
aright." — Golden  Rule. 

"A  series  of  short  essays,  written  with  point,  ease,  and  grace.  The  easy  style 
of  the  practiced  writer  is  apparent  on  every  page.  The  subjects  are  infinitely 
important  ones,  which  concern  the  interests  of  the  human  soul.  We  wish 
there  were  more  Editors  who  possessed  the  ability  and  disposition  to  write 
Bnch  articles."— Episcopal  Recorder. 

H.    L.    HASTINGS'    SCRIPTURAL  TRACT    REPOSITORY. 

BOSTON,  U.S.A. :  49  COBNHTLL,        r     LONDON  :  10  PATEBNOSTER  Kow. 
H.  L.  HASTINGS.  |        MARSHALL  BEOS.,  AGENTS. 


I 


H.  L.  HASTINGS'  PUBLICATIONS. 


ORDER  'LIST 


'Heathenism  antf  JYModem 
Spiritualism.'  H  L  Bastings.  5  cts. 

.Inn-InfKltt  Library.  The.  Edited 
by  H  L  Bastings.  About  4U  numbers  Issued. 
'All  I'Hles  with  a  star  (*)-belong  to  It 

^nti-  Tobacco  Crusader,  The.    Qnar 

x  tei  ly      Per  year,  in  advance,  •         5O  eta. 

Armory,  The,  U  paH  of  The  Christian 

Atheism  V  Arithmetic.-  16e  ,  35  cts 

Mtabe  of  Bethlehem.  25c. ,  Cl  .  6O  cts. 

Bible  Rhymes,  Btble  Lessons.  Amur 
Bel)  and  H  L  H  Pp  80.  Manilla.  1O  ct>. 

Bible  Triumphant,  The.'  Mrs.H.V. 
KeedA  Manilla,  26  eta ;  Cloth.  80  cts.  I 

Christian,  The.  Monthly,  16  p.  $1  OO.  I 

Christian  Safeguard,  part  of  Chritttan. 

Common  People,  Tike,  part  of  Chruttan. 

Consecration.  H.L.H.  10c..  C1..25cts. 

Corruptions  of  JVew  Testament, 
The.9  H.  L  H.  15  cts. .  Cloth,  35  cts 

Credibility  of  the  Christian  Relig- 
ton.  The.  3.  Smith  Pa.,25c. .  Cl  ,36c. 

Darwinism.'  Patterson.  Pp.  70, 15  cts. 

Depths  of  Satan,  The.'  ,  6  cts. 

Ebenezers.    H.L.H.  Cr  8vo..Cl.,$l.OO. 

Egypt  tn  History  and  Prophecy.- 
K  Patterson  Cr.  8vo  ,  pp  67  Ma  .  16  cts.! 

Errors  of  Evolution,  The.'  CLv^l. 

Familiar  Spirits.'    Bamsey. V  0  cts. 

family  Circle,  The.  B.L.H    Sl.OO. 

Fireside  Readings-     Pp  382,  Cl.,    $1.' 

Fourteen  JTut*.*    B.L.H.  6 cts. I 

Friendly  Hints.'    H.  L.  H  5  cts.) 

Geological  Evolution.'  Pp.  89. 15  cts.1 

Glad  Tidings.    W  K.Tweedle.   6O  cts. 

Guiding  Hand,  The.  H.L.H    $1.OO.  • 

Grape  Shot.  Leaflets  on  Christian  Evi- 
dences. H.  L.  H  •  Per  pound.  6O  cts. 

Bastings  Birthday  Book.    $1.OO. 

Heathenism  and  Spiritualism.- 
II  L  U  Cr  8vo.,  pp.  32,  Manilla,  5  cts 

Uome,  Marriage  and  Family  Re- 
lations. By  James Inglis.  Pp.96.  75  cts. 

Move  the  Baby  was  Saved.     16  cts. 

Hudson's  Critical  Greek  and  En- 
glish Concordance  of  the  «Veir 
Testament.  By  C  P.  Hudson.  Ezra 
Abbot,  and  H  L.  Hastings.  Cr  8vo  ,  pp.  632 
(London  8  BagsterA  Sons.  Ld  )C1.  $2. 

infldrl  Testimony  Concerning  the 
Truth  of  the  Bible.'  1O  cts. 

inspiration  of  the  Bible,  The.'  By 
H  L.  Hastings.  THIRD  MILLION.  Several 
different  editions,  viz.  .  Coarse  type  ("lone 
(primer  ") ,  Manilla,  6  cts.— Paper,  6  cts. ,  per 
jlOO  copies.  82.00,  1000.  91600  Illustrated 
Edition,  WILL  THE  OLD  BOOK'STAND?  game 
terms.  In  Cloth  binding,  A  SQUARE  TALK, 
Illustrated  60  Cts  —  In  various  languages.* 

ts  the  Btble  a  True  Bookf    6  cts. 


iff  mtl"s  Greatest  Prophet.*    6  cts 
froT*  Messiah.'!  H   L,  U         6cta 
m*un»  <«  the  Path.  W.K  Tweedle    6O 
tAlile  Christian,  The.  Year    30  cts. 
Monthly  Booklet.    Per  year,   25  cts 
Monthly  Message,  The.  Year.  25  cts 
Murdoek's    Trans,   of  the   Syrtac 
JVew  Testament.  >,f.  /  *>•  *  i  $2.6O. 
Jltosheim's  Institutes  of  Ecclestas- 
u  Heal  History.     Translated    by  James 
f  MunJock.  D  D.  Cloth,  $3.5O. 

Jnystery  Solved  t  ~ Spiritual  Mani- 
festations Explained.'  5  cts 
J\'cif  Leaf,  .£.    Mrs.  Seymour.      16  cts 
JTumber  in  JVature.'  £.  White.  5  cts. 
Origin  of  lAfe,  The.'                 1O  cts, 
Pebbles  from  the  Path  of  a  Pil- 
grim. Mrs. H.L.H    Pa.  50c  .  Cl  ,  $1.0O. 
Primitive  Christianity  and  Mod- 
ern Spiritualism.'    H  L  H.    5  ct» 
Reaching  the  Masses.'              6  ct» 
Readings  f  or  t  Leisure    Moments* 
H   L.  H.    Cr  8vo..  Cloth,                 $1.OO. 
Reign  of  Christ  on  Earth.    $1.OO. 
Remarks  on  Mistakes  of  Moses. 
»H  L.H  *  Cr  8vo  .  Paper  or  Manilla.  6  eta 
Scientific  Star  Building,       15  cts. 
Seed  Time  and  Harvest.        6O  cts. 
Separated  JVation.'  20c  ,  Cl.,  35  cts. 
Songs  of  Pilgrimage.    A  Hymnal  for 
the  Churches  of  Christ.     By  H  L  Bastings. 
Large  8vo,  1,663  Bymns  with  music,  pp  644. 
Music,  Half  Leather.  81.25 .  Cl  .  91.00 .  Bds.. 
76c.1  Words  only.  Cloth  76c. ;  Bds.,  60  cU. 
Spirit  Workings  in  Various  JLandm 

-  and  Ages.'    By  Wm.  Ramsey        6  cts, 
Spiritual  -  Manifestations,     theif 

JVature  and  Significance.'  6  cts 
Square  Talk  to  young  Men,  A.  H. 
L.  H.  ;.  Being  the  lecture  on  INSPIRATION. 
bound  In  Cloth,  together  with  ••  CORRUP- 
TIONS OP  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT."  Cr  8vo. 
pp.  125,  Illustrated,  60  eta. 

Tales  of  Trust.  Pp.  382.  Cloth,  $1.0O. 
Testimony  of  Christ  to  the  Truth 

*  of  the  Old  Testament,  The.'  5  cts. 
Testimony  of  History.'  ,  Qeo.  Raw- 

llnson.  Manilla,  36  cts  ;  Cloth,  "i  80  cts. 
Theatre,  The*  Leeds.  25c. ;  Cl ,  6O  cts. 
Trying  the  Spirits,  an  Exam,  of 

Modem  Spiritualism.'  Sets. 
Two  Hundred  Gathered  Gems  of 

Song  and  Story.  H  L.  B.  76  cts. 
1'isiy  Giant,  The,  By  J.  K.  H.  15  cts. 
Warning  Word,  **.*  5  eta 

Who  Made  the  JVetP  Test. I"  5  cts. 
Witt  the  Old  Book  Stands'  U  simply 

the  Illustrated  6-ct  edition  Of  INSPIBATION. 
Witness  of  Skeptics,  The.'  6  cts. 
Wonderful  JLaw,  The.'  20c. .  &.,  36c. 


H.  L.  HASTINGS'  SCRIPTURAL,  TRACT  REPO8ITOBY. 
BOSTON,  MASS.  :  47  A  49  Q}BJTBU.U  I          LONDON  :  10  PATERNOSTEB  Row,  E.  G 


H.  L.  HASTINGS. 


MARSHALL  BKOS  .  AQCHT8. 


YC  40837 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


